Thursday, March 14
Anaheim, CA
12:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
13-20
68
vs
71
UC Santa Barbara
22-9
1
2
F
CSUN
34
34
68
UC Santa Barbara
42
29
71
Team Stats
CSUN
UCSB
FG%
.424
.411
3FG%
.375
.500
FT%
.800
.818
RB
35
38
TO
10
10
STL
7
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Braden Villanueva
Matadors Fall to UCSB at Big West Tournament
3/14/2019 2:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ANAHEIM, Calif.---An 11-3 run in the final minutes lifted second-seeded UC Santa Barbara past the seventh-seeded Matadors as CSUN Men's Basketball was eliminated from the Big West Tournament quarterfinals with a 71-68 defeat on Thursday at the Honda Center. Freshman Lamine Diane posted 22 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks. Sophomore Terrell Gomez added 16 points while junior Rodney Henderson Jr. chipped in with 15 points off the bench.
The Matadors led 65-60 with just over four minutes to play before the Gauchos rallied back to steal the game and advance to the tournament semifinals.
CSUN finished shooting 42.4 percent from the field and knocked down 6-of-16 from 3-point range (37.5 percent) while the Gauchos shot 41.1 percent and 7-of-14 from downtown (50.0 percent). Both teams made free throws consistently as CSUN made 12-of-15 (80.0 percent) and UCSB converted on 18-of-22 (81.8 percent). The Matadors were narrowly outrebounded 38-35.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"I thought our kids played their hearts out. Played as hard as they could possibly play. The game came down to the last few minutes. We gave up a big three, I thought that hurt us - [Ar'mond] Davis' shot in the corner. We had some offensive trips where we just came up short. Not bad shots, the ball just didn't go in. But boy, our players played really hard, theirs did too. It was a great basketball game and we just came up a few plays short.
We didn't win as many games as maybe we'd all like to, but I think when you consider where the program was and what's been established now - I think we started the year arguably, I don't know all the statistics, but maybe the most inexperienced team in the country, let alone the conference. To look at where we started and where we are today, there's a lot to feel really good about."
FIRST HALF
The Matadors jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead after five early points from Diane. His putback off his missed shot forced an early UCSB timeout. Cameron Gottfried buried a 3-pointer and Diane later made a pull-up jumper to push the lead to 14-9. However, CSUN would go into a near six-minute drought while the Gauchos found their rhythm on the offensive end. Amadou Sow capped off a 19-0 UCSB run that suddenly put the Matadors into a 28-14 hole at the 8:45 mark.
Darius Brown II finally ended the scoring drought with a layup as CSUN spent the remainder of the half fighting back into the game. CSUN went on a 7-0 run after a 3-pointer from Gomez. CSUN fell behind 36-26 before Gomez scored five-straight points, cutting the lead to 36-31. The All-Big West First Team selection also made a buzzer beater before the half but the Gauchos would take a 42-34 lead into the break. Gomez led all Matadors in scoring with 12 in the half.
SECOND HALF
Brown scored the Matadors' first four points and Diane would throw down a dunk to cut into the deficit. Diane then found Gottfried on a fastbreak finish to pull the Matadors within two. The Big West Player of the Year scored six-straight CSUN points to bring his team even at 48-48 at the 11:51 mark. Less than two minutes later, Diane gave the Matadors their first lead since the early moments of the first half with two free throws.
Henderson Jr. brought the Matador faithful to their feet with a 3-pointer to give the Matadors a three-point lead. The Matadors would lead by as many as six (61-55) after a layup from Diane at the 5:59 mark of the half. Minutes later, after a 3-pointer from JaQuori McLaughlin, Gomez hit a mid-range shot to make it a 65-60 game.
Just as everything was going the Matadors' way, CSUN went into another scoring drought as the final minutes came off the clock. The Matadors came up empty on six consecutive possessions, allowing UCSB to go on a 9-0 run to lead 69-65. Henderson Jr. finally ended the run with a deep 3-pointer, cutting the deficit to one with 20 seconds left. Max Heidegger was fouled on the next possession and made two free throws, setting the stage for the final play. Gomez took the final shot from 3-point range but missed as UCSB rebounded the ball and ran off the final seconds to escape with the win
GAME NOTES
Diane added to his Matador double-double record with his 20th of the season. His scoring average of 24.7 points ranks first among any player in the team's Division I era and second overall in CSUN history. Diane's 11.3 rebounds per game are also first in the Division I era while it ranks fifth overall. In the record book, he holds the school's single-season points (791), rebounds (361), field goals made (329) and blocks (71) records.
Gomez's 630 points this season rank third-most in team history, behind Diane and Brian Heinle who tallied 646 in 2000-01. Gomez's 19.1 points per game this season is the third-highest scoring average in the team's Division I era. He holds the Matador record for 3-point field goals made with 113.
Gottfried finished with five points and two rebounds in his final collegiate game against Big West foes while Brown added six points, five rebounds and three assists.
The Matadors led 65-60 with just over four minutes to play before the Gauchos rallied back to steal the game and advance to the tournament semifinals.
CSUN finished shooting 42.4 percent from the field and knocked down 6-of-16 from 3-point range (37.5 percent) while the Gauchos shot 41.1 percent and 7-of-14 from downtown (50.0 percent). Both teams made free throws consistently as CSUN made 12-of-15 (80.0 percent) and UCSB converted on 18-of-22 (81.8 percent). The Matadors were narrowly outrebounded 38-35.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"I thought our kids played their hearts out. Played as hard as they could possibly play. The game came down to the last few minutes. We gave up a big three, I thought that hurt us - [Ar'mond] Davis' shot in the corner. We had some offensive trips where we just came up short. Not bad shots, the ball just didn't go in. But boy, our players played really hard, theirs did too. It was a great basketball game and we just came up a few plays short.
We didn't win as many games as maybe we'd all like to, but I think when you consider where the program was and what's been established now - I think we started the year arguably, I don't know all the statistics, but maybe the most inexperienced team in the country, let alone the conference. To look at where we started and where we are today, there's a lot to feel really good about."
FIRST HALF
The Matadors jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead after five early points from Diane. His putback off his missed shot forced an early UCSB timeout. Cameron Gottfried buried a 3-pointer and Diane later made a pull-up jumper to push the lead to 14-9. However, CSUN would go into a near six-minute drought while the Gauchos found their rhythm on the offensive end. Amadou Sow capped off a 19-0 UCSB run that suddenly put the Matadors into a 28-14 hole at the 8:45 mark.
Darius Brown II finally ended the scoring drought with a layup as CSUN spent the remainder of the half fighting back into the game. CSUN went on a 7-0 run after a 3-pointer from Gomez. CSUN fell behind 36-26 before Gomez scored five-straight points, cutting the lead to 36-31. The All-Big West First Team selection also made a buzzer beater before the half but the Gauchos would take a 42-34 lead into the break. Gomez led all Matadors in scoring with 12 in the half.
SECOND HALF
Brown scored the Matadors' first four points and Diane would throw down a dunk to cut into the deficit. Diane then found Gottfried on a fastbreak finish to pull the Matadors within two. The Big West Player of the Year scored six-straight CSUN points to bring his team even at 48-48 at the 11:51 mark. Less than two minutes later, Diane gave the Matadors their first lead since the early moments of the first half with two free throws.
Henderson Jr. brought the Matador faithful to their feet with a 3-pointer to give the Matadors a three-point lead. The Matadors would lead by as many as six (61-55) after a layup from Diane at the 5:59 mark of the half. Minutes later, after a 3-pointer from JaQuori McLaughlin, Gomez hit a mid-range shot to make it a 65-60 game.
Just as everything was going the Matadors' way, CSUN went into another scoring drought as the final minutes came off the clock. The Matadors came up empty on six consecutive possessions, allowing UCSB to go on a 9-0 run to lead 69-65. Henderson Jr. finally ended the run with a deep 3-pointer, cutting the deficit to one with 20 seconds left. Max Heidegger was fouled on the next possession and made two free throws, setting the stage for the final play. Gomez took the final shot from 3-point range but missed as UCSB rebounded the ball and ran off the final seconds to escape with the win
GAME NOTES
Diane added to his Matador double-double record with his 20th of the season. His scoring average of 24.7 points ranks first among any player in the team's Division I era and second overall in CSUN history. Diane's 11.3 rebounds per game are also first in the Division I era while it ranks fifth overall. In the record book, he holds the school's single-season points (791), rebounds (361), field goals made (329) and blocks (71) records.
Gomez's 630 points this season rank third-most in team history, behind Diane and Brian Heinle who tallied 646 in 2000-01. Gomez's 19.1 points per game this season is the third-highest scoring average in the team's Division I era. He holds the Matador record for 3-point field goals made with 113.
Gottfried finished with five points and two rebounds in his final collegiate game against Big West foes while Brown added six points, five rebounds and three assists.
Texas State vs. Eastern Washington
Saturday, November 20
Texas State vs. Dixie State
Friday, November 19
A Conversation With Mark Gottfried
Friday, June 19
Preseason chat with Terrell Gomez
Thursday, October 03