Monday, December 28
Northridge, Calif.
2:00 pm
California State University at Northridge
vs
New Mexico State
Photo by: Braden Villanueva
Matadors Host NM State for First Time in Team History
12/27/2020 10:52:00 AM | Men's Basketball
FULL GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball returns to The Matadome on Monday afternoon for a non-conference game with New Mexico State at 2 p.m. The game will stream live at BigWest.TV with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call starting at 1:50 p.m.
The Matadors have not played a game since Dec. 19. Over the past week, the Matadors' games against Pacific (Dec. 22) and Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 27-28) were canceled due to COVID-19 precautions. As a result of canceling the games with the Titans, CSUN will open up Big West play instead against UC Irvine from Jan. 1-2 inside The Matadome.
CSUN is coming off a rough outing at California that saw the Bears prevail 87-56. The Matadors struggled from the field throughout the game, finishing just 34.7 percent from the field. In contrast, the Bears shot a red-hot 60.8 percent from the field and received a combined 42 points from their leading scorers Makale Foreman and Ryan Betley. Cal led by as many as 40 points in the second half but the Matadors trimmed into the lead down the stretch thanks to contributions off their bench. Freshman Atin Wright scored a season-high 10 points while freshman Fidelis Okereke added seven points for the Matadors. Junior TJ Starks scored a team-high 13 points in defeat.
A number of Matadors are among the league leaders in several Big West statistical categories. Starks leads the league in field goals made with 36 followed by senior Lance Coleman II who has made 33. Coleman II has converted on a league-leading 16 3-pointers while Starks is second with 15. Junior Darius Brown II leads the Big West and the nation in assists to turnover ratio at a 9.7 clip. On the Big West's points per game list, Starks is third at 18.2 and Coleman II is seventh at 15.7. Freshman Alex Merviladze is also fourth in the conference in rebounds per game (7.0).
This week's game may mark the season debut for junior Vante Hendrix who was deemed eligible to compete last week. Hendrix has competed in 22 Division I games over the past two seasons, which have included stops at Utah and New Mexico. Over his collegiate career, he has averaged 8.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists to go with a 47.0 field goal percentage. Hendrix played in four games with Utah from 2018-19 but saw more action with New Mexico last season, playing in 18 games and averaging 8.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. The 6-5 guard graduated from Birmingham Charter High School in 2017 and won a city championship as a senior.
CSUN will host NM State for the first time in team history on Monday. The Aggies have won two all-time meetings in the series, both of which have taken place in Las Cruces, N.M. CSUN dropped a 92-57 decision in the teams' last meeting on Dec. 19, 2018 as Lamine Diane led the Matadors in scoring with 25 points.
A Closer Look at New Mexico State
The Aggies come into The Matadome with a 21-game winning streak going back to last season. NM State (2-0) has defeated two NAIA teams this season in Arizona Christian and Benedictine Mesa. The team relocated out-of-state for the 2020-21 season as a result of in-state COVID-19 restrictions in New Mexico. Earlier in the month, NM State paused its basketball operations due to COVID-19 and has not played a game since Dec. 1. A perennial power in the Western Athletic Conference, NM State was picked to win its fourth-straight WAC title this season by members of the media and the league coaches. Head coach Chris Jans has led the Aggies to 31-straight conference wins.
Through two games, Donnie Tillman is averaging a team-high 16.0 points followed by Clayton Henry with 15.5 points per game. Johnny McCants is nearly averaging a double-double with 9.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. A total of four Aggies were selected on the Preseason Coaches and Media All-WAC Team, which included Tillman, McCants, Jabari Rice and Evan Gilyard. An All-WAC First Team selection a year ago, Rice was named unanimous Preseason Player of the Year.
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#UniteTheValley
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NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball returns to The Matadome on Monday afternoon for a non-conference game with New Mexico State at 2 p.m. The game will stream live at BigWest.TV with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call starting at 1:50 p.m.
The Matadors have not played a game since Dec. 19. Over the past week, the Matadors' games against Pacific (Dec. 22) and Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 27-28) were canceled due to COVID-19 precautions. As a result of canceling the games with the Titans, CSUN will open up Big West play instead against UC Irvine from Jan. 1-2 inside The Matadome.
CSUN is coming off a rough outing at California that saw the Bears prevail 87-56. The Matadors struggled from the field throughout the game, finishing just 34.7 percent from the field. In contrast, the Bears shot a red-hot 60.8 percent from the field and received a combined 42 points from their leading scorers Makale Foreman and Ryan Betley. Cal led by as many as 40 points in the second half but the Matadors trimmed into the lead down the stretch thanks to contributions off their bench. Freshman Atin Wright scored a season-high 10 points while freshman Fidelis Okereke added seven points for the Matadors. Junior TJ Starks scored a team-high 13 points in defeat.
A number of Matadors are among the league leaders in several Big West statistical categories. Starks leads the league in field goals made with 36 followed by senior Lance Coleman II who has made 33. Coleman II has converted on a league-leading 16 3-pointers while Starks is second with 15. Junior Darius Brown II leads the Big West and the nation in assists to turnover ratio at a 9.7 clip. On the Big West's points per game list, Starks is third at 18.2 and Coleman II is seventh at 15.7. Freshman Alex Merviladze is also fourth in the conference in rebounds per game (7.0).
This week's game may mark the season debut for junior Vante Hendrix who was deemed eligible to compete last week. Hendrix has competed in 22 Division I games over the past two seasons, which have included stops at Utah and New Mexico. Over his collegiate career, he has averaged 8.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists to go with a 47.0 field goal percentage. Hendrix played in four games with Utah from 2018-19 but saw more action with New Mexico last season, playing in 18 games and averaging 8.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. The 6-5 guard graduated from Birmingham Charter High School in 2017 and won a city championship as a senior.
CSUN will host NM State for the first time in team history on Monday. The Aggies have won two all-time meetings in the series, both of which have taken place in Las Cruces, N.M. CSUN dropped a 92-57 decision in the teams' last meeting on Dec. 19, 2018 as Lamine Diane led the Matadors in scoring with 25 points.
A Closer Look at New Mexico State
The Aggies come into The Matadome with a 21-game winning streak going back to last season. NM State (2-0) has defeated two NAIA teams this season in Arizona Christian and Benedictine Mesa. The team relocated out-of-state for the 2020-21 season as a result of in-state COVID-19 restrictions in New Mexico. Earlier in the month, NM State paused its basketball operations due to COVID-19 and has not played a game since Dec. 1. A perennial power in the Western Athletic Conference, NM State was picked to win its fourth-straight WAC title this season by members of the media and the league coaches. Head coach Chris Jans has led the Aggies to 31-straight conference wins.
Through two games, Donnie Tillman is averaging a team-high 16.0 points followed by Clayton Henry with 15.5 points per game. Johnny McCants is nearly averaging a double-double with 9.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. A total of four Aggies were selected on the Preseason Coaches and Media All-WAC Team, which included Tillman, McCants, Jabari Rice and Evan Gilyard. An All-WAC First Team selection a year ago, Rice was named unanimous Preseason Player of the Year.
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#UniteTheValley
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Players Mentioned
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