Matadors Drop Legends Classic Opener at #22 Auburn

AUBURN, Ala.---CSUN Men's Basketball (0-4) fell to No.22 Auburn 116-70 in its Roman Legends Classic opener on Friday at Auburn Arena. Four Matadors scored in double figures led by junior Terrell Gomez who had 23 points to go with 5-of-11 shooting from 3-point range. Freshman Brendan Harrick knocked down 5-of-9 from downtown to finish with a career-high 17 points while sophomore Elijah Harkless had 11 points and sophomore Jared Pearre totaled 10 points and nine rebounds.

The Matadors shot 34.2 percent from the field and went 11-of-29 from 3-point range (37.9 percent). In contrast, Auburn was hot throughout the night, shooting 56.8 percent including 48.6 percent from downtown (17-of-35). The Tigers out-rebounded the Matadors 56-33 and enjoyed a 50-28 advantage in points in the paint.

FIRST HALF
The Tigers missed their first shot to start the game but they made their next five to stake to an 11-0 lead. The Matadors missed their first four shots until Pearre finally broke the seal with a driving layup before a 3-pointer from Lance Coleman II cut the lead to 13-5. However, the Tigers made three-straight shots from downtown including two from Samir Doughty to push the lead to 22-5.

Miles Brookins made his CSUN debut early in the first half and earned his first points as a Matador at the free throw line. Auburn would shoot 60.5 percent in the first half and lead by as many as 31 points as Doughty led the way with 22 points. After missing his first five shots, Gomez heated up in the final minutes, drilling five of his last seven shots including a first-half buzzer beater to bring CSUN within 66-38.

SECOND HALF
The Matadors struggled from the field in the second half, shooting just 32.4 percent while the Tigers kept up their red-hot shooting over the last 20 minutes. Gomez brought the Matadors to within 26 on two early free throws but the Tigers would not let CSUN get any closer. Doughty pushed the lead to 32 on a driving layup and Anfernee McLemore later drained a 3-pointer to make it an 85-51 game.

Gomez and Harrick continued to supply the offense for the Matadors with 10 and eight points respectively. Harrick knocked down his final 3-pointer at the 4:08 mark and would finish the game with a dish to Harkless on a drive to the hoop. Auburn led by as many as 50 points down the stretch with Doughty leading all scorers with 33 points.

GAME NOTES
Sophomore Darius Brown II tallied seven assists and three rebounds while Michael Ou chipped in with four points and two rebounds. Brookins played eight minutes and scored two points before suffering an injury early in the second half.

ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"Auburn looked like a team that was very hungry. They had a close game a couple of nights ago at South Alabama. They came out with a lot of energy and their shooting was off the charts. Some of it was our defense and some of it was the fact that they couldn't miss. I feel bad for Miles - it breaks your heart. He finally gets a chance to play and it's just terrible luck. We have to keep figuring it out, get better and go from there."

UP NEXT
CSUN returns to action at the Roman Legends Classic presented by Old Trapper with a Sunday match-up with Richmond. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. (PST).

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Team Stats

Terrell Gomez

Brendan Harrick

Elijah Harkless

Jared Pearre

Players Mentioned

Miles Brookins

Darius Brown II

Lance Coleman II

Terrell Gomez

Elijah Harkless

Brendan Harrick

Michael Ou

Jared Pearre