Wednesday, November 25
Northridge, Calif.
4:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
1-0
97
vs
79
Westmont
1
2
F
Westmont
31
48
79
CSUN
59
38
97
Team Stats
WC
CSUN
FG%
.406
.468
3FG%
.267
.382
FT%
.633
.769
RB
35
51
TO
12
13
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Braden Villanueva
Matadors Open Season with 97-79 Win Over Westmont
11/25/2020 7:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---Senior Lance Coleman II and freshman Alex Merkviladze combined for 42 points as CSUN Men's Basketball cruised to a 97-79 season-opening win over Westmont on Wednesday at The Matadome. Coleman II scored a career-high 22 points, all of which came in the first half, on 8-of-17 shooting while Merkviladze posted a double-double in his first career game, tallying 20 points and 12 rebounds. Junior TJ Starks chipped in with 11 points and four assists. Taking control near the midway point of the first period, the Matadors led by as many as 33 points in the victory.
CSUN shot 46.8 percent for the night and made 13-of-34 from 3-point range (38.2 percent). The Matadors were also an efficient 10-of-13 from the free throw line (76.9 percent). The Warriors were held to 40.6 percent shooting and knocked down 8-of-30 from long range (26.7 percent). CSUN dominated the glass, out-rebounding Westmont 51-36 while the Matadors held a 26-14 edge in assists. The Matador reserves also outscored the Warriors' bench 31-14.
FIRST HALF
One of the top NAIA schools in the country, Westmont led in the early minutes of the first half by as many as five points (10-5) before a 13-2 run swung the lead in favor of the Matadors. Coleman II drilled four of his first six shots and would put CSUN on top 20-14 near the 12-minute mark. The Matador bench would fuel a 10-0 run that quickly extended the lead to 30-16. Freshman Fidelis Okereke scored five of the 10 points during the spurt while Ron Artest III and Brendan Harrick each knocked down jump shots.
The Matadors shot just under 49 percent in the first half with Coleman II leading the way. The senior forward hit 4-of-10 from 3-point range and his trey with 2:57 left to play pushed the lead to 50-27. In contrast, CSUN held Westmont to 40 percent shooting in the stanza and dominated the glass with a 28-13 edge. In the final minute of the half, Amound Anderson drained a 3-pointer and Coleman II hit two late free throws to give CSUN a 59-31 edge at the break.
SECOND HALF
After a Merkviladze jumper to begin the second half, the Warriors made a push and outscored the Matadors 13-2 to trim the lead to 63-44. Starks though would help squash the rally with back-to-back 3-pointers and Merkviladze followed with a trey of his own. After a modest six points in the first half, Merkviladze paced the Matadors with 14 second-half points while he grabbed eight of his 12 rebounds over the final 20 minutes. Merkviladze's layup with 10:32 left to play gave the Matadors their biggest lead of the night at 81-48.
One of eight Matadors making their debut in the game, Atin Wright scored his first career basket with 5:26 left to play in the game. Merkviladze capped off his scoring for the game with a 3-pointer in the final minute, putting CSUN ahead 97-75. CSUN never led by less than 18 points in the second half en route to its first win of the season.Â
GAME NOTES
Darius Brown II finished with a game-high eight assists to go with six points and five rebounds. Festus Ndumanya added seven points and four rebounds in 15 minutes of action. Artest III grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds and scored six points. In addition to his point total, Coleman II also dished out a career-high five assists in the win.
Starks hit 3-of-6 from downtown in his first CSUN game while he recorded two steals. Off the bench, Wright and Okereke added seven points apiece and Anderson had six points.
For Westmont, Abram Carrasco scored a game-high 28 points.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"I liked how we played. We had 26 assists, which jumps off the page. We played together really well. We've got a lot of inexperienced, younger guys that are not afraid and I like that about them. I think our team could be a balanced team in scoring, we've got to get a little better defensively, obviously. We never let them get going from the 3-point line, which is a key for [Westmont]. It was nice to see us carry through a game plan a little bit."
UP NEXT
The Matadors head to Las Vegas, Nev. to compete in the Men's Vegas Bubble beginning Saturday. CSUN opens up the event against Air Force before taking on Seattle U on Monday. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister will call the action in both games at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#UniteTheValley
Â
CSUN shot 46.8 percent for the night and made 13-of-34 from 3-point range (38.2 percent). The Matadors were also an efficient 10-of-13 from the free throw line (76.9 percent). The Warriors were held to 40.6 percent shooting and knocked down 8-of-30 from long range (26.7 percent). CSUN dominated the glass, out-rebounding Westmont 51-36 while the Matadors held a 26-14 edge in assists. The Matador reserves also outscored the Warriors' bench 31-14.
FIRST HALF
One of the top NAIA schools in the country, Westmont led in the early minutes of the first half by as many as five points (10-5) before a 13-2 run swung the lead in favor of the Matadors. Coleman II drilled four of his first six shots and would put CSUN on top 20-14 near the 12-minute mark. The Matador bench would fuel a 10-0 run that quickly extended the lead to 30-16. Freshman Fidelis Okereke scored five of the 10 points during the spurt while Ron Artest III and Brendan Harrick each knocked down jump shots.
The Matadors shot just under 49 percent in the first half with Coleman II leading the way. The senior forward hit 4-of-10 from 3-point range and his trey with 2:57 left to play pushed the lead to 50-27. In contrast, CSUN held Westmont to 40 percent shooting in the stanza and dominated the glass with a 28-13 edge. In the final minute of the half, Amound Anderson drained a 3-pointer and Coleman II hit two late free throws to give CSUN a 59-31 edge at the break.
SECOND HALF
After a Merkviladze jumper to begin the second half, the Warriors made a push and outscored the Matadors 13-2 to trim the lead to 63-44. Starks though would help squash the rally with back-to-back 3-pointers and Merkviladze followed with a trey of his own. After a modest six points in the first half, Merkviladze paced the Matadors with 14 second-half points while he grabbed eight of his 12 rebounds over the final 20 minutes. Merkviladze's layup with 10:32 left to play gave the Matadors their biggest lead of the night at 81-48.
One of eight Matadors making their debut in the game, Atin Wright scored his first career basket with 5:26 left to play in the game. Merkviladze capped off his scoring for the game with a 3-pointer in the final minute, putting CSUN ahead 97-75. CSUN never led by less than 18 points in the second half en route to its first win of the season.Â
GAME NOTES
Darius Brown II finished with a game-high eight assists to go with six points and five rebounds. Festus Ndumanya added seven points and four rebounds in 15 minutes of action. Artest III grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds and scored six points. In addition to his point total, Coleman II also dished out a career-high five assists in the win.
Starks hit 3-of-6 from downtown in his first CSUN game while he recorded two steals. Off the bench, Wright and Okereke added seven points apiece and Anderson had six points.
For Westmont, Abram Carrasco scored a game-high 28 points.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"I liked how we played. We had 26 assists, which jumps off the page. We played together really well. We've got a lot of inexperienced, younger guys that are not afraid and I like that about them. I think our team could be a balanced team in scoring, we've got to get a little better defensively, obviously. We never let them get going from the 3-point line, which is a key for [Westmont]. It was nice to see us carry through a game plan a little bit."
UP NEXT
The Matadors head to Las Vegas, Nev. to compete in the Men's Vegas Bubble beginning Saturday. CSUN opens up the event against Air Force before taking on Seattle U on Monday. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister will call the action in both games at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#UniteTheValley
Â
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