Matadors Return Home Saturday to Face Cal Poly

FULL GAME NOTES

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball (9-13, 3-3 BWC) returns to The Matadome this Saturday night as the Matadors host Cal Poly at 7 p.m. The game will air live on the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call. The first 1,000 fans at The Matadome will receive a free CSUN Blackout t-shirt.

The Matadors are coming off a 78-71 loss at Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday evening. CSUN struggled throughout the first half, shooting under 35 percent as the Titans raced out to a 46-25 halftime lead. The Matadors would fight back in the second half behind a career-high 39 points from freshman Lamine Diane. CSUN trimmed the deficit to five points twice but the Titans were able to hold on in the final minutes.

Diane's 39 points match a Matador Division I record for points in a game. Since the 1990-91 season, only three other Matadors have scored 39 points, which include Mike O'Quinn (1998), Mike Efevberha (2006) and Kenny Daniels (2009). Overall, Diane's 39 points are third-most in program history, behind Ollie Carter's 47 points (1966) and Mark Cooley's 40 points (1967). Diane also set a new school Division I record for field goals made with 17 (on 33 attempts) as the previous mark was held by Lenny Daniel with 15 (2010). His 33 attempts in the game are the most ever in Matador history. Amazingly, Diane scored 29 points in the second half against the Titans as he converted 16 of his final 25 shots after a 1-for-8 start to the game.

Both Diane and Terrell Gomez are quickly making their marks in the Matador record book. On the career list, Gomez is sixth all time with 145 3-pointers and just four away from catching Brian Heinle (1997-01) for fifth place. Diane is currently 10th with 48 blocked shots with Tom Samson (1993-97) on the career list while his 48 rejections are also third-most for a single season. Gomez continues to inch closer to the single season 3-point mark set by Kyle Kerlegan in 1990-91 (98 3-pointers). The sophomore has 80 treys this season which is just three off the pace of second place, occupied by Deon Tresvant (2007-08). Also, Diane is sixth on the single-season field goals made list with 211.

Ranked among the best nationally in scoring and rebounding, Diane is seventh in points per game (24.2) and eighth in rebounds per game (11.0). The freshman is first in field goals made while ranking 11th in double-doubles (12) and 19th in blocks per game (2.3).

The Mustangs lead the all-time series with CSUN, 54-48. Last month, the Matadors posted a 78-74 overtime win at Cal Poly behind 23 points from Gomez. Diane tallied 20 points and 15 rebounds while Darius Brown II dished out a season-best 11 assists. In the wild game, the Matadors led by 20 points but had to erase a 10-point second-half deficit to force overtime where they eventually prevailed. CSUN has won seven of the last nine meetings at The Matadome.

A Closer Look at Cal Poly
Cal Poly (5-14, 1-5 BWC) picked up its first Big West Conference win on Thursday at UC Riverside (71-45). The road win over the Highlanders was the Mustangs' first of the season. Marcellus Garrick scored 18 points and hit 6-of-7 from 3-point range. Back on Jan. 12 against CSUN, senior Donovan Fields led the way with 30 points and seven assists.

Fields is fourth in the Big West in assists per game (4.5) and sixth in points per game (15.9). Sophomore Mark Crowe is averaging 10.8 points and shooting 46.7 percent from 3-point range while junior Hank Hollingsworth is the team's top rebounder at 5.2 per game. The Mustangs average 65.3 points per game and rank third in the Big West in 3-point field goals made per game (8.6).

Matadors Return Home Saturday to Face Cal Poly

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Players Mentioned

Darius Brown II

Lamine Diane

Terrell Gomez