Saturday, March 9
Irvine, CA
7:30 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
13-19, 7-9BWC
74
at
86
UC Irvine
27-5, 15-1BWC
1
2
F
CSUN
33
41
74
UC Irvine
49
37
86
Team Stats
CSUN
IRVINE
FG%
.391
.466
3FG%
.417
.308
FT%
.625
.667
RB
42
48
TO
5
5
STL
3
1
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
33
FGM
13
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
4
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Shae Hammond
Matadors Drop Regular Season Finale at UC Irvine
3/9/2019 11:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
IRVINE, Calif.---Freshman Lamine Diane broke the school's single-season rebounding record and double-double record but CSUN Men's Basketball (13-19, 7-9 BWC) fell at UC Irvine 86-74 to close the regular season on Saturday at the Bren Events Center. Diane finished with 33 points and 18 rebounds, his 19th double-double of the season. Freshman Michael Ou added 11 points off the bench while freshman Darius Brown II posted 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
The Matadors have earned a No. 7 seed in next week's Big West Tournament. CSUN will open up the quarterfinal round against No. 2 seed UC Santa Barbara on Thursday at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Tip off is slated for noon.
The Anteaters shot 46.9 percent from the field, holding the Matadors to 39.1 percent shooting. CSUN made 5-of-12 (41.7 percent) from 3-point range while UCI went 8-of-26 (30.8 percent) for the night. UC Irvine out-rebounded CSUN 48-42.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"I thought early in the game [UC Irvine] was really, really good. Some of it was our fault but you've got to give them credit too. They just played at a high level. But I'm really proud of our guys. We never laid down. We kept fighting and battling. We had it about 12 or so and then I think we missed front ends [of a 1-and-1 at the free throw line]. I thought if we could get it down to eight or seven, now it's a ballgame but we couldn't get there. Our kids played really hard and we played a veteran team today that's won 27 games this year. They're a good team."
"We'll take a few days off, get ourselves regrouped and ready for the tournament. It's a three-game season. Its time to go play."
FIRST HALF
UCI built an early 12-6 lead before Diane knocked down a 3-pointer from straight away and Darius Brown II hit a mid-range jumper to pull CSUN within one. Diane kept the Matadors close in the first half and his 3-point play at the 11:21 mark cut the lead to 18-15. The Anteaters though constructed an 11-4 run to lead by double digits for the first time in the game.
UCI led throughout the first half, shooting 52 percent in the first 20 minutes. On the flip side, the Matadors shot just above 34 percent and were unable to make a dent into the Anteater lead. Ou would convert down low, trimming the deficit to 34-23 but the next nine points would go to the Anteaters. Evan Leonard drained a 3-pointer at the 4:22 mark to extend to a 20-point lead for UCI. Ou scored back-to-back layups and Blair Orr knocked down a late mid-range jumper to bring CSUN closer at 49-33 at the half.
SECOND HALF
Diane would put on a show in the second half as he did his best to keep the Matadors within striking distance. The freshman scored 23 points in the second half alone, going 9-of-15 from the field while grabbing 12 boards. Diane scored eight-straight Matador points during one stretch but the lead remained 66-44 at the 11:47 mark.
Despite the big hill in front of them, the Matadors kept on battling down the stretch. Diane scored again in the paint despite a wall of UCI defenders and a foul, cutting into the lead. After a Ou jumper, back-to-back 3-pointers from Rodney Henderson Jr. and Diane brought CSUN within 68-55. Minutes later, the Matadors found themselves down 76-65 after a 3-pointer from Brown. However, CSUN would go without a point for four-straight possessions, giving the Anteaters a chance to pull away in the final minutes. Brown made a pair of late free throws to cut the UCI lead to 82-72 but that was the closest the Matadors would get in the contest.
Outscoring the Anteaters 41-37 in the second half, the Matadors limited the opposition to 39.4 percent shooting in the period.
GAME NOTES
Diane's 33 points give the freshman seven 30-point games this season. A top candidate for Big West Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Freshman of the Year, Diane has broken several Matador single-season records including points (769), field goals made (321), rebounds (344), blocks (66) and double-doubles (19). The 18 rebounds on Saturday tied the season high he set at Washington State on Nov. 27.
For UCI, Leonard led the team in scoring with 17 points.
UP NEXT
The Matadors play for a chance at the NCAA Tournament when they open up Big West Tournament play against the Gauchos next Thursday. The game will air live on ESPN3 while an audio only broadcast will be available on the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call at 11:50 a.m.
The Matadors have earned a No. 7 seed in next week's Big West Tournament. CSUN will open up the quarterfinal round against No. 2 seed UC Santa Barbara on Thursday at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Tip off is slated for noon.
The Anteaters shot 46.9 percent from the field, holding the Matadors to 39.1 percent shooting. CSUN made 5-of-12 (41.7 percent) from 3-point range while UCI went 8-of-26 (30.8 percent) for the night. UC Irvine out-rebounded CSUN 48-42.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"I thought early in the game [UC Irvine] was really, really good. Some of it was our fault but you've got to give them credit too. They just played at a high level. But I'm really proud of our guys. We never laid down. We kept fighting and battling. We had it about 12 or so and then I think we missed front ends [of a 1-and-1 at the free throw line]. I thought if we could get it down to eight or seven, now it's a ballgame but we couldn't get there. Our kids played really hard and we played a veteran team today that's won 27 games this year. They're a good team."
"We'll take a few days off, get ourselves regrouped and ready for the tournament. It's a three-game season. Its time to go play."
FIRST HALF
UCI built an early 12-6 lead before Diane knocked down a 3-pointer from straight away and Darius Brown II hit a mid-range jumper to pull CSUN within one. Diane kept the Matadors close in the first half and his 3-point play at the 11:21 mark cut the lead to 18-15. The Anteaters though constructed an 11-4 run to lead by double digits for the first time in the game.
UCI led throughout the first half, shooting 52 percent in the first 20 minutes. On the flip side, the Matadors shot just above 34 percent and were unable to make a dent into the Anteater lead. Ou would convert down low, trimming the deficit to 34-23 but the next nine points would go to the Anteaters. Evan Leonard drained a 3-pointer at the 4:22 mark to extend to a 20-point lead for UCI. Ou scored back-to-back layups and Blair Orr knocked down a late mid-range jumper to bring CSUN closer at 49-33 at the half.
SECOND HALF
Diane would put on a show in the second half as he did his best to keep the Matadors within striking distance. The freshman scored 23 points in the second half alone, going 9-of-15 from the field while grabbing 12 boards. Diane scored eight-straight Matador points during one stretch but the lead remained 66-44 at the 11:47 mark.
Despite the big hill in front of them, the Matadors kept on battling down the stretch. Diane scored again in the paint despite a wall of UCI defenders and a foul, cutting into the lead. After a Ou jumper, back-to-back 3-pointers from Rodney Henderson Jr. and Diane brought CSUN within 68-55. Minutes later, the Matadors found themselves down 76-65 after a 3-pointer from Brown. However, CSUN would go without a point for four-straight possessions, giving the Anteaters a chance to pull away in the final minutes. Brown made a pair of late free throws to cut the UCI lead to 82-72 but that was the closest the Matadors would get in the contest.
Outscoring the Anteaters 41-37 in the second half, the Matadors limited the opposition to 39.4 percent shooting in the period.
GAME NOTES
Diane's 33 points give the freshman seven 30-point games this season. A top candidate for Big West Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Freshman of the Year, Diane has broken several Matador single-season records including points (769), field goals made (321), rebounds (344), blocks (66) and double-doubles (19). The 18 rebounds on Saturday tied the season high he set at Washington State on Nov. 27.
For UCI, Leonard led the team in scoring with 17 points.
UP NEXT
The Matadors play for a chance at the NCAA Tournament when they open up Big West Tournament play against the Gauchos next Thursday. The game will air live on ESPN3 while an audio only broadcast will be available on the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call at 11:50 a.m.
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Texas State vs. Dixie State
Friday, November 19
A Conversation With Mark Gottfried
Friday, June 19
Preseason chat with Terrell Gomez
Thursday, October 03