Monday, December 28
Northridge, Calif.
2:00 pm
California State University at Northridge
4-3
66
vs
63
New Mexico State
2-1
1
2
F
New Mexico St.
38
25
63
CSUN
30
36
66
Team Stats
NMSU
CSUN
FG%
.317
.333
3FG%
.269
.222
FT%
.727
.800
RB
45
48
TO
14
10
STL
4
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Braden Villanueva
Matadors Rally to Defeat NM State, 66-63
12/28/2020 4:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball (4-3) ended the game with an 8-0 run to rally past New Mexico State 66-63 on Monday afternoon at The Matadome. Junior TJ Starks shook off a tough shooting night (6-of-20) with a go-ahead 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining as he finished with a team-high 18 points. The Matadors' win over the Aggies snapped NM State's 21-game winning streak going back to last season.
Junior Darius Brown II registered 12 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals while freshman Alex Merkviladze had 11 points and seven rebounds. Making his Matador debut in the game, junior Vante Hendrix poured in 11 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
In a game where neither team excelled offensively, the Matadors shot 33.3 percent for the game and held the Aggies to 31.7 percent shooting. CSUN also made just 6-of-27 from 3-point range (22.2 percent) while NM State made 7-of-26 (26.9 percent). At the free throw line, CSUN made 16-of-20 (80 percent) and the Aggies knocked down 16-of-22 attempts (72.7 percent). CSUN out-rebounded NM State 48-45 and held a 28-25 advantage in points in the paint.
FIRST HALF
Both sides struggled from the field at the outset of the game as the Aggies missed their first five shots while CSUN went just 1-of-6. The Matadors led 5-1 in the early minutes until a 9-0 NM State run gave the visitors a 10-5 lead. Festus Ndumanya broke a near four-minute dry spell with a 3-point play but NM State maintained its lead for the rest of the half. Johnny McCants scored 11 points in the opening stanza including a 3-pointer with 6:16 on the clock that gave the Aggies their biggest lead at 28-17.
Despite the poor shooting, the Matadors continued to battle and kept the game close. Five-straight points, highlighted by a 3-pointer from Merkviladze closed the gap to six. CSUN would pull to within 32-26 after back-to-back baskets from Starks but his second jumper with 3:41 left to play was the Matadors' final hoop of the half. After falling behind by 10 points, Miles Brookins hit two late free throws to bring the Matadors to within 38-30 at the break.
SECOND HALF
Out of the intermission, CSUN would miss its first six shots before an emphatic dunk from Starks ended the string with 16:24 on the clock. In contrast, the Matadors held the Aggies to one made field goal for the first 10-plus minutes of the second half. CSUN would inch closer after three made free throws from Hendrix cut the deficit to 44-39 with 13:28 to play. The lead shrunk further to three after a made free throw from Ndumanya before the Aggies answered with a 5-0 spurt.
The lead would swell to double digits after consecutive 3-pointers from Evan Gilyard II and McCants put the Matadors in a 56-44 hole with seven minutes to play. Looking up at their biggest deficit of the day, the Matadors made one more push beginning with a Hendrix drive to the hoop. Ndumanya followed with a basket in the lane and Starks made two at the free throw line to quickly trim the lead to 59-53. Off a feed from Brookins, Brown II knocked down a timely 3-pointer with 2:21 to play, making it a 61-58 game.
NM State pushed the lead to five after a dunk from Tillman with 1:57 to play but it would be the Aggies' final basket. Hendrix scored the next four CSUN points to cut the deficit to one. After a defensive stop, the Matadors regained possession with under a minute to play. Out of a timeout, Hendrix found Starks for a corner 3-pointer to give the Matadors their first lead since the opening minutes of the game. Shortly after a Starks free throw extended the lead to three, CSUN withstood a last-second 3-pointer from Tillman as the final horn sounded.
GAME NOTES
Off the bench, Brookins grabbed seven rebounds and scored six points in 23 minutes while sophomore Festus Ndumanya tallied six points and six rebounds. The Matadors played without their second-leading scorer Lance Coleman II who missed the game due to injury.
CSUN's win over NM State is the program's first in three all-time meetings. Prior to Monday, the Aggies' last loss came on Dec. 14, 2019, against a New Mexico team that had Hendrix on its roster.
For the Aggies, McCants scored a game-high 19 points while Tillman had 10 points and 17 rebounds.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"It's a game where we struggled to score. We just struggled to make a shot. I think before the last two threes, we were 4-of-25 and most of them were pretty good shots. I gave our players a lot of credit. They could have dropped their heads and pouted a little bit but they kept playing. I thought at the end of the game we did a nice job, our zone defense helped us. We did a good job in the zone, we hadn't played it a ton, only in practice. Darius made a big three, TJ made a big three, Vante made a big drive to the basket – he'll get better and better in time – a nice team win for us against a team that probably might be in the NCAA Tournament."
UP NEXT
The Matadors set their sights on Big West play beginning Friday. CSUN hosts UC Irvine in the first of back-to-back games on Friday at 4 p.m. The game will stream on ESPN3 while Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister are on the call in an audio broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#UniteTheValley
Junior Darius Brown II registered 12 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals while freshman Alex Merkviladze had 11 points and seven rebounds. Making his Matador debut in the game, junior Vante Hendrix poured in 11 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
In a game where neither team excelled offensively, the Matadors shot 33.3 percent for the game and held the Aggies to 31.7 percent shooting. CSUN also made just 6-of-27 from 3-point range (22.2 percent) while NM State made 7-of-26 (26.9 percent). At the free throw line, CSUN made 16-of-20 (80 percent) and the Aggies knocked down 16-of-22 attempts (72.7 percent). CSUN out-rebounded NM State 48-45 and held a 28-25 advantage in points in the paint.
FIRST HALF
Both sides struggled from the field at the outset of the game as the Aggies missed their first five shots while CSUN went just 1-of-6. The Matadors led 5-1 in the early minutes until a 9-0 NM State run gave the visitors a 10-5 lead. Festus Ndumanya broke a near four-minute dry spell with a 3-point play but NM State maintained its lead for the rest of the half. Johnny McCants scored 11 points in the opening stanza including a 3-pointer with 6:16 on the clock that gave the Aggies their biggest lead at 28-17.
Despite the poor shooting, the Matadors continued to battle and kept the game close. Five-straight points, highlighted by a 3-pointer from Merkviladze closed the gap to six. CSUN would pull to within 32-26 after back-to-back baskets from Starks but his second jumper with 3:41 left to play was the Matadors' final hoop of the half. After falling behind by 10 points, Miles Brookins hit two late free throws to bring the Matadors to within 38-30 at the break.
SECOND HALF
Out of the intermission, CSUN would miss its first six shots before an emphatic dunk from Starks ended the string with 16:24 on the clock. In contrast, the Matadors held the Aggies to one made field goal for the first 10-plus minutes of the second half. CSUN would inch closer after three made free throws from Hendrix cut the deficit to 44-39 with 13:28 to play. The lead shrunk further to three after a made free throw from Ndumanya before the Aggies answered with a 5-0 spurt.
The lead would swell to double digits after consecutive 3-pointers from Evan Gilyard II and McCants put the Matadors in a 56-44 hole with seven minutes to play. Looking up at their biggest deficit of the day, the Matadors made one more push beginning with a Hendrix drive to the hoop. Ndumanya followed with a basket in the lane and Starks made two at the free throw line to quickly trim the lead to 59-53. Off a feed from Brookins, Brown II knocked down a timely 3-pointer with 2:21 to play, making it a 61-58 game.
NM State pushed the lead to five after a dunk from Tillman with 1:57 to play but it would be the Aggies' final basket. Hendrix scored the next four CSUN points to cut the deficit to one. After a defensive stop, the Matadors regained possession with under a minute to play. Out of a timeout, Hendrix found Starks for a corner 3-pointer to give the Matadors their first lead since the opening minutes of the game. Shortly after a Starks free throw extended the lead to three, CSUN withstood a last-second 3-pointer from Tillman as the final horn sounded.
GAME NOTES
Off the bench, Brookins grabbed seven rebounds and scored six points in 23 minutes while sophomore Festus Ndumanya tallied six points and six rebounds. The Matadors played without their second-leading scorer Lance Coleman II who missed the game due to injury.
CSUN's win over NM State is the program's first in three all-time meetings. Prior to Monday, the Aggies' last loss came on Dec. 14, 2019, against a New Mexico team that had Hendrix on its roster.
For the Aggies, McCants scored a game-high 19 points while Tillman had 10 points and 17 rebounds.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"It's a game where we struggled to score. We just struggled to make a shot. I think before the last two threes, we were 4-of-25 and most of them were pretty good shots. I gave our players a lot of credit. They could have dropped their heads and pouted a little bit but they kept playing. I thought at the end of the game we did a nice job, our zone defense helped us. We did a good job in the zone, we hadn't played it a ton, only in practice. Darius made a big three, TJ made a big three, Vante made a big drive to the basket – he'll get better and better in time – a nice team win for us against a team that probably might be in the NCAA Tournament."
UP NEXT
The Matadors set their sights on Big West play beginning Friday. CSUN hosts UC Irvine in the first of back-to-back games on Friday at 4 p.m. The game will stream on ESPN3 while Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister are on the call in an audio broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#UniteTheValley
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