California State University Northridge Athletics
Saturday, December 12
Malibu, Calif.
6:00 pm
California State University at Northridge
3-1
89
at
84
Pepperdine
3-3
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| CSUN | 42 | 47 | 89 |
| Pepperdine | 37 | 47 | 84 |
Team Stats
CSUN
PEP
FG%
.507
.491
3FG%
.280
.381
FT%
.625
.857
RB
31
36
TO
10
16
STL
7
2
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
18
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Braden Villanueva
Starks Leads CSUN Past Pepperdine, 89-84
12/12/2020 8:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MALIBU, Calif.---Five Matadors scored in double figures led by junior TJ Starks' 24 points as CSUN Men's Basketball picked up a road win over Pepperdine 89-84 on Saturday night at the Firestone Fieldhouse. CSUN's 3-1 start to the season is the program's best four-game start since 2012-13.
Senior Lance Coleman II scored 18 points and collected six rebounds while junior Darius Brown II recorded 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Sophomore Festus Ndumanya added 12 points and five rebounds and freshman Alex Merkviladze registered 13 points and seven rebounds. The Matadors knocked off a Pepperdine (3-3) team that defeated UC Irvine and California and had only suffered losses to nationally-ranked teams in UCLA and San Diego State.
The Matadors finished shooting 50.7 percent from the field while Pepperdine was just below that total at 49.1 percent. The Waves feasted at the free throw line, making 24-of-28 for an 85.7 percent clip. CSUN would hit on 10-of-16 from the free throw line (62.5 percent) but made five in the final minute of the game. The Matadors also outscored the Waves 18-7 in points off turnovers.
FIRST HALF
CSUN came out of the blocks quickly, making three of its first four shots. Starks led the way offensively in the early minutes but picked up two fouls in the first five-plus minutes, forcing him to the bench. CSUN held a 16-13 lead before an 8-2 run by the Waves gave the home team a three-point edge. Starks checked back into the game at the 9:55 mark and promptly nailed a 3-pointer in transition to give the Matadors the lead back at 26-24.
The teams would trade the lead 10 times in the first half but the Matadors would stay in front over the final 7:31 after a Brown II jumper. Despite missing eight consecutive shots after the Brown II basket, the Matadors held the Waves scoreless on the defensive end to maintain the advantage. Ndumanya ended the string with a layup and Starks followed suit with a basket of his own to push the lead to six. CSUN extended its lead to eight on a Coleman II jumper with 2:17 left in the first half before the Waves countered with five-straight points. Ndumanya wrapped up the scoring in the first half with a dunk to send CSUN into intermission ahead 42-37.
SECOND HALF
CSUN shot over 58 percent in the second half but the Waves continued to stay close thanks in large part to earning trips to the free throw line. Pepperdine would take 22 free throws in the second half, compared to CSUN's 10 attempts, making 19. Jan Zidek pulled the Waves to within 51-49 on a layup before Coleman II scored five unanswered points. Merkviladze would also score five points of his own with his last three coming off a conventional 3-point play to put CSUN in front 61-51.
Brown II knocked down a jumper to make it a nine-point game (72-63) with 8:52 left to play but he committed his fourth foul on the next possession, which forced the junior to the bench. The Waves took advantage, scoring nine unanswered including five from the free throw line to tie the game. CSUN would have an answer as Coleman II hit two timely baskets and Starks sank a 3-pointer to keep CSUN ahead 82-77 with 3:08 to play.
After the Waves pulled to within one, Starks delivered with a drive to basket to make it an 84-81 game. On the ensuing possession, Pepperdine earned four free throw attempts, after two offensive rebounds, making three of them to tie the game. Following a CSUN timeout, Starks earned his way to the free throw line and made one of two. CSUN withstood a Colbey Ross 3-point miss on the next possession before Starks made two more clutch free throws to push the lead to 87-84. Kessler Edwards would miss the Waves' last 3-point attempt to tie the game, giving Ndumanya a chance to ice the game with two late free throws.
GAME NOTES
Brown II moved into sole possession of sixth place on CSUN's all-time career assist list, passing Josh Jenkins (2007-09). The junior now stands at 326 career assists and is 32 shy of fifth place on the list.
Starks made 8-of-15 from the field including 3-of-6 from the 3-point arc. With his 24 points, he has scored 20 or more points in three-straight games.
For the Waves, Ross scored a game-high 29 points while Edwards added 21 points.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"I'm really proud of our players and our coaches, I think it's a nice win. We've got a lot of inexperienced guys and they did a nice job of defending, taking away some of the things we wanted to take away – [Pepperdine] hit threes early and we made adjustments, switch the ball screens, which was great. And then offensively, sometimes with a young team, you're not sure how you could execute but we came together tonight. It was a really nice win for our guys."
UP NEXT
The Matadors are tentatively scheduled to play two non-conference games in the next week starting with a home contest against Stanford on Tuesday, Dec. 15. CSUN is also tentatively set to travel to California on Saturday, Dec. 19. Stay with GoMatadors.com for further updates to the Matadors' schedule.
#UniteTheValley
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Senior Lance Coleman II scored 18 points and collected six rebounds while junior Darius Brown II recorded 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Sophomore Festus Ndumanya added 12 points and five rebounds and freshman Alex Merkviladze registered 13 points and seven rebounds. The Matadors knocked off a Pepperdine (3-3) team that defeated UC Irvine and California and had only suffered losses to nationally-ranked teams in UCLA and San Diego State.
The Matadors finished shooting 50.7 percent from the field while Pepperdine was just below that total at 49.1 percent. The Waves feasted at the free throw line, making 24-of-28 for an 85.7 percent clip. CSUN would hit on 10-of-16 from the free throw line (62.5 percent) but made five in the final minute of the game. The Matadors also outscored the Waves 18-7 in points off turnovers.
FIRST HALF
CSUN came out of the blocks quickly, making three of its first four shots. Starks led the way offensively in the early minutes but picked up two fouls in the first five-plus minutes, forcing him to the bench. CSUN held a 16-13 lead before an 8-2 run by the Waves gave the home team a three-point edge. Starks checked back into the game at the 9:55 mark and promptly nailed a 3-pointer in transition to give the Matadors the lead back at 26-24.
The teams would trade the lead 10 times in the first half but the Matadors would stay in front over the final 7:31 after a Brown II jumper. Despite missing eight consecutive shots after the Brown II basket, the Matadors held the Waves scoreless on the defensive end to maintain the advantage. Ndumanya ended the string with a layup and Starks followed suit with a basket of his own to push the lead to six. CSUN extended its lead to eight on a Coleman II jumper with 2:17 left in the first half before the Waves countered with five-straight points. Ndumanya wrapped up the scoring in the first half with a dunk to send CSUN into intermission ahead 42-37.
SECOND HALF
CSUN shot over 58 percent in the second half but the Waves continued to stay close thanks in large part to earning trips to the free throw line. Pepperdine would take 22 free throws in the second half, compared to CSUN's 10 attempts, making 19. Jan Zidek pulled the Waves to within 51-49 on a layup before Coleman II scored five unanswered points. Merkviladze would also score five points of his own with his last three coming off a conventional 3-point play to put CSUN in front 61-51.
Brown II knocked down a jumper to make it a nine-point game (72-63) with 8:52 left to play but he committed his fourth foul on the next possession, which forced the junior to the bench. The Waves took advantage, scoring nine unanswered including five from the free throw line to tie the game. CSUN would have an answer as Coleman II hit two timely baskets and Starks sank a 3-pointer to keep CSUN ahead 82-77 with 3:08 to play.
After the Waves pulled to within one, Starks delivered with a drive to basket to make it an 84-81 game. On the ensuing possession, Pepperdine earned four free throw attempts, after two offensive rebounds, making three of them to tie the game. Following a CSUN timeout, Starks earned his way to the free throw line and made one of two. CSUN withstood a Colbey Ross 3-point miss on the next possession before Starks made two more clutch free throws to push the lead to 87-84. Kessler Edwards would miss the Waves' last 3-point attempt to tie the game, giving Ndumanya a chance to ice the game with two late free throws.
GAME NOTES
Brown II moved into sole possession of sixth place on CSUN's all-time career assist list, passing Josh Jenkins (2007-09). The junior now stands at 326 career assists and is 32 shy of fifth place on the list.
Starks made 8-of-15 from the field including 3-of-6 from the 3-point arc. With his 24 points, he has scored 20 or more points in three-straight games.
For the Waves, Ross scored a game-high 29 points while Edwards added 21 points.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"I'm really proud of our players and our coaches, I think it's a nice win. We've got a lot of inexperienced guys and they did a nice job of defending, taking away some of the things we wanted to take away – [Pepperdine] hit threes early and we made adjustments, switch the ball screens, which was great. And then offensively, sometimes with a young team, you're not sure how you could execute but we came together tonight. It was a really nice win for our guys."
UP NEXT
The Matadors are tentatively scheduled to play two non-conference games in the next week starting with a home contest against Stanford on Tuesday, Dec. 15. CSUN is also tentatively set to travel to California on Saturday, Dec. 19. Stay with GoMatadors.com for further updates to the Matadors' schedule.
#UniteTheValley
Â
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