Wednesday, January 8
Northridge, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
vs
Long Beach State
Photo by: Shae Hammond
Matadors Host Long Beach State in Big West Opener
1/7/2020 11:23:00 AM | Men's Basketball
FULL GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball (5-11, 0-0 Big West) kicks off the start of Big West Conference play this week. The Matadors host Long Beach State on Wednesday night at The Matadome at 7 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN3 while an audio broadcast on the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister starts at 6:50 p.m. Trent Rush and Dave Miller have the call on ESPN3.
The Matadors come into conference action with a two-game winning streak while they have gone 5-4 after an 0-7 start to the season. CSUN handed Saint Katherine a 109-75 defeat last Saturday at The Matadome. The 34-point win was the program's largest margin of victory over an opponent since beating Vanguard by 51 on Dec. 5, 2012 (120-69). The victory also included a historic performance from sophomore Elijah Harkless who recorded CSUN's first-ever triple-double in school history.
Harkless finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to go with four steals in the win. Junior Terrell Gomez tallied 25 points to lead all scorers while sophomores Jared Pearre and Michael Ou scored 19 and 17 points, respectively. Another junior, Lance Coleman II notched his first career double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds in the triumph.
For his efforts last week, Harkless earned Big West Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career on Jan. 6. Harkless averaged 21.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 7.5 assists in a 2-0 week, which included a CSUN 93-82 victory over Morgan State on New Year's Eve. He also shot 52.0 percent from the floor (13-of-25) and 78.9 percent from the free throw line (15-of-19) in the two games. Harkless and Gomez (Dec. 2) have been named Big West Player of the Week for the Matadors this season.
Gomez ended non-conference play the Big West leader in several categories including points per game (21.3), minutes per game (36.5), free throw percentage (93.7), field goals made (115) and 3-point field goals made (56). Harkless is tops in the conference in steals per game (2.3) and defensive rebounds per game (5.6) while he is fourth in overall rebounds per game (6.8). Sophomore Darius Brown II is second in the Big West in assists per game (4.6) and assists to turnover ratio (3.0). Although he has not played enough games to qualify as a statistical leader in the Big West, Diane is scoring 30.7 points and 11.3 rebounds while shooting 48.7 percent from the field.
On the national leaderboard, Gomez is third in Division I basketball in 3-point field goals made, seventh in total points (340), eighth in free throw percentage, 15th in points per game and 17th in field goals made. Harkless is ranked 13th in total steals (37) and 25th in steals per game. Brown II is also 13th in the nation in assists to turnover ratio.
Long Beach State leads the all-time series with CSUN 42-25 but the teams have split the last six meetings over the last three seasons. Each team held serve at home last season with the Matadors posting an 86-71 win at The Matadome on Jan. 23, 2019. Gomez scored a game-high 21 points against the Beach in that win while Pearre added 16 points and 10 rebounds. In the two games against LBSU, Gomez averaged 17.5 points while Diane and Brown II each averaged 15.5 points per game.
A Closer Look at Long Beach State
The Beach finished non-conference play at 5-11 after defeating Cal State Los Angeles (76-60) on Saturday at Walter Pyramid. Long Beach State has wins over the likes of San Diego (74-62) and Utah Valley (68-65) on the year as well as a victory over Providence (66-65) at the Wooden Legacy. The Beach have sported a different look than last season with nine newcomers including three transfers on their roster. As a team, LBSU is ranked first in the Big West in steals per game (6.8) and second in blocks per game (3.5).
Sophomore Chance Hunter leads the squad in scoring at 13.6 points per game to go with 5.1 rebounds. Hunter is ranked eighth in the Big West in scoring heading into league play. Sophomore Michael Carter III is a close second in scoring at 12.1 points while junior Colin Slater averaged 11.0 points. Freshman Joshua Morgan leads the Big West in blocks per game (2.0) while he is seventh in rebounds per game (5.9).
#UniteTheValley
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NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball (5-11, 0-0 Big West) kicks off the start of Big West Conference play this week. The Matadors host Long Beach State on Wednesday night at The Matadome at 7 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN3 while an audio broadcast on the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister starts at 6:50 p.m. Trent Rush and Dave Miller have the call on ESPN3.
The Matadors come into conference action with a two-game winning streak while they have gone 5-4 after an 0-7 start to the season. CSUN handed Saint Katherine a 109-75 defeat last Saturday at The Matadome. The 34-point win was the program's largest margin of victory over an opponent since beating Vanguard by 51 on Dec. 5, 2012 (120-69). The victory also included a historic performance from sophomore Elijah Harkless who recorded CSUN's first-ever triple-double in school history.
Harkless finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to go with four steals in the win. Junior Terrell Gomez tallied 25 points to lead all scorers while sophomores Jared Pearre and Michael Ou scored 19 and 17 points, respectively. Another junior, Lance Coleman II notched his first career double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds in the triumph.
For his efforts last week, Harkless earned Big West Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career on Jan. 6. Harkless averaged 21.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 7.5 assists in a 2-0 week, which included a CSUN 93-82 victory over Morgan State on New Year's Eve. He also shot 52.0 percent from the floor (13-of-25) and 78.9 percent from the free throw line (15-of-19) in the two games. Harkless and Gomez (Dec. 2) have been named Big West Player of the Week for the Matadors this season.
Gomez ended non-conference play the Big West leader in several categories including points per game (21.3), minutes per game (36.5), free throw percentage (93.7), field goals made (115) and 3-point field goals made (56). Harkless is tops in the conference in steals per game (2.3) and defensive rebounds per game (5.6) while he is fourth in overall rebounds per game (6.8). Sophomore Darius Brown II is second in the Big West in assists per game (4.6) and assists to turnover ratio (3.0). Although he has not played enough games to qualify as a statistical leader in the Big West, Diane is scoring 30.7 points and 11.3 rebounds while shooting 48.7 percent from the field.
On the national leaderboard, Gomez is third in Division I basketball in 3-point field goals made, seventh in total points (340), eighth in free throw percentage, 15th in points per game and 17th in field goals made. Harkless is ranked 13th in total steals (37) and 25th in steals per game. Brown II is also 13th in the nation in assists to turnover ratio.
Long Beach State leads the all-time series with CSUN 42-25 but the teams have split the last six meetings over the last three seasons. Each team held serve at home last season with the Matadors posting an 86-71 win at The Matadome on Jan. 23, 2019. Gomez scored a game-high 21 points against the Beach in that win while Pearre added 16 points and 10 rebounds. In the two games against LBSU, Gomez averaged 17.5 points while Diane and Brown II each averaged 15.5 points per game.
A Closer Look at Long Beach State
The Beach finished non-conference play at 5-11 after defeating Cal State Los Angeles (76-60) on Saturday at Walter Pyramid. Long Beach State has wins over the likes of San Diego (74-62) and Utah Valley (68-65) on the year as well as a victory over Providence (66-65) at the Wooden Legacy. The Beach have sported a different look than last season with nine newcomers including three transfers on their roster. As a team, LBSU is ranked first in the Big West in steals per game (6.8) and second in blocks per game (3.5).
Sophomore Chance Hunter leads the squad in scoring at 13.6 points per game to go with 5.1 rebounds. Hunter is ranked eighth in the Big West in scoring heading into league play. Sophomore Michael Carter III is a close second in scoring at 12.1 points while junior Colin Slater averaged 11.0 points. Freshman Joshua Morgan leads the Big West in blocks per game (2.0) while he is seventh in rebounds per game (5.9).
#UniteTheValley
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