Thursday, February 13
Northridge, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
11-15,6-4Big We
81
vs
73
Cal Poly
7-17,4-6Big Wes
1
2
F
Cal Poly
32
41
73
CSUN
34
47
81
Team Stats
CPO
CSUN
FG%
.443
.431
3FG%
.333
.316
FT%
.556
.760
RB
41
41
TO
11
6
STL
3
6
Game Leaders
Pts
26
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Paul Trafecanty
Brown Powers CSUN Past Cal Poly, 81-73
2/13/2020 9:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---Darius Brown II scored a career-high 26 points as CSUN Men's Basketball (11-15, 6-4 Big West) knocked off Cal Poly (7-17, 4-6 Big West) 81-73 on Thursday night at The Matadome. Lamine Diane finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season while Terrell Gomez added 17 points and three rebounds. CSUN broke open a two-point lead at the half to pick up the win and earn a season split with the Mustangs.
The Matadors fought off a sluggish first half from the field to finish with a 43.1 shooting percentage for the game while the Mustangs shot 44.3 percent overall. CSUN made 6-of-19 from 3-point range (31.6 percent) and converted on 19-of-25 from the free throw line (76.0 percent). Cal Poly knocked down 9-of-27 from downtown (33.3 percent) and just 10-of-18 from the charity stripe (55.6 percent). The teams finished with 41 rebounds apiece while the Matadors outscored the Mustangs 26-12 in fast break points.
FIRST HALF
Gomez and Brown II made up the Matadors' first 11 points as CSUN surged ahead 11-3 at the first media timeout. Brown II would score 10-straight Matador points near the midway mark of the half, highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers. His two made free throws with 10:18 on the clock gave the Matadors their biggest lead of the half at 23-8. The Mustangs fought back to trim the deficit to 26-16 but Festus Ndumanya tipped in a Brown II missed shot to push the CSUN advantage to 12 points.
The final seven minutes though would belong to the Mustangs as they continued to chip away at the lead. Nolan Taylor scored seven of his 11 points in the first half and his layup cut the lead to single digits with 5:42 to play. After a Keith Smith basket, Mark Crowe drained a 3-pointer to bring the Mustangs closer at 30-26. Elijah Harkless and Diane gave the Matadors some breathing room with back-to-back field goals but Jamal Smith found his stroke from outside to end the half. Smith hit back-to-back 3-pointers including a buzzer-beater from near halfcourt to close the period, bringing Cal Poly within 34-32 at the break.
SECOND HALF
CSUN would seize momentum out of the halftime break as Brown II hit consecutive baskets to quickly push the lead to six. Diane would convert on a second-chance hoop and Gomez followed with a traditional 3-point play to put the Matadors ahead 43-34. Ndumanya continued to make a difference on the glass as he brought down an offensive rebound scored near the 15:00 mark of the half. The Matador freshman converted on a jumper from eight feet moments later then Diane picked off an inbound pass and threw down a dunk to cap a 9-0 run, giving CSUN a 54-39 lead.
Shaking off a two-point first half, Diane found his rhythm in the second half, scoring 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Diane fought threw a foul to convert on a driving layup to make it a 65-50 game with 7:33 to play. The Matadors would build their biggest lead of 17 points after a Harkless jumper (69-52). The Mustangs forged one last run in the closing minutes of the half as Smith completed a 3-point play then Crowe made two free throws to trim the deficit to 75-65. Junior Ballard stroked a 3-pointer to cut the lead single digits with 1:19 to play but the Matadors hit their free throws in the final seconds to hold off Cal Poly. Diane made three throws in the final minute and Brendan Harrick added another to seal the win.
GAME NOTES
Diane's double-double was his 28th of his career, putting him into sole possession of fourth place on the Matadors' career list. Brown II also picked up his 282nd career assist, which gives him sole possession of 10th place in the CSUN record book.
Brown II finished 9-of-18 from the floor including 3-of-7 from 3-point range. Harkless added eight points and six rebounds while Ndumanya had six points and five rebounds off the bench.
For Cal Poly, Smith had a team-high 19 points.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"I thought we did a lot of things well. We could have played a little bit smarter down the stretch. We foul a 3-point shooter, we had a free throw block out, those little plays add up but overall we did a lot of things well. Lamine got going in the second half. I thought Terrell made big shots. Darius was terrific - he had a phenomenal start to the game and we needed it. Elijah had a basket, a 10-footer, which was a big one late in the game. Cal Poly is a tough team and a lot better than they were a year ago. Sometimes in college basketball in the month of February you've just got to grind them out. We did a good job and found a way to win. That's the most important thing."
UP NEXT
The Matadors make the trip to UC Davis on Saturday night. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m. on BigWest.TV. Ghizal Hasan will call the action in an audio broadcast on the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health.
#UniteTheValley
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The Matadors fought off a sluggish first half from the field to finish with a 43.1 shooting percentage for the game while the Mustangs shot 44.3 percent overall. CSUN made 6-of-19 from 3-point range (31.6 percent) and converted on 19-of-25 from the free throw line (76.0 percent). Cal Poly knocked down 9-of-27 from downtown (33.3 percent) and just 10-of-18 from the charity stripe (55.6 percent). The teams finished with 41 rebounds apiece while the Matadors outscored the Mustangs 26-12 in fast break points.
FIRST HALF
Gomez and Brown II made up the Matadors' first 11 points as CSUN surged ahead 11-3 at the first media timeout. Brown II would score 10-straight Matador points near the midway mark of the half, highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers. His two made free throws with 10:18 on the clock gave the Matadors their biggest lead of the half at 23-8. The Mustangs fought back to trim the deficit to 26-16 but Festus Ndumanya tipped in a Brown II missed shot to push the CSUN advantage to 12 points.
The final seven minutes though would belong to the Mustangs as they continued to chip away at the lead. Nolan Taylor scored seven of his 11 points in the first half and his layup cut the lead to single digits with 5:42 to play. After a Keith Smith basket, Mark Crowe drained a 3-pointer to bring the Mustangs closer at 30-26. Elijah Harkless and Diane gave the Matadors some breathing room with back-to-back field goals but Jamal Smith found his stroke from outside to end the half. Smith hit back-to-back 3-pointers including a buzzer-beater from near halfcourt to close the period, bringing Cal Poly within 34-32 at the break.
SECOND HALF
CSUN would seize momentum out of the halftime break as Brown II hit consecutive baskets to quickly push the lead to six. Diane would convert on a second-chance hoop and Gomez followed with a traditional 3-point play to put the Matadors ahead 43-34. Ndumanya continued to make a difference on the glass as he brought down an offensive rebound scored near the 15:00 mark of the half. The Matador freshman converted on a jumper from eight feet moments later then Diane picked off an inbound pass and threw down a dunk to cap a 9-0 run, giving CSUN a 54-39 lead.
Shaking off a two-point first half, Diane found his rhythm in the second half, scoring 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Diane fought threw a foul to convert on a driving layup to make it a 65-50 game with 7:33 to play. The Matadors would build their biggest lead of 17 points after a Harkless jumper (69-52). The Mustangs forged one last run in the closing minutes of the half as Smith completed a 3-point play then Crowe made two free throws to trim the deficit to 75-65. Junior Ballard stroked a 3-pointer to cut the lead single digits with 1:19 to play but the Matadors hit their free throws in the final seconds to hold off Cal Poly. Diane made three throws in the final minute and Brendan Harrick added another to seal the win.
GAME NOTES
Diane's double-double was his 28th of his career, putting him into sole possession of fourth place on the Matadors' career list. Brown II also picked up his 282nd career assist, which gives him sole possession of 10th place in the CSUN record book.
Brown II finished 9-of-18 from the floor including 3-of-7 from 3-point range. Harkless added eight points and six rebounds while Ndumanya had six points and five rebounds off the bench.
For Cal Poly, Smith had a team-high 19 points.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"I thought we did a lot of things well. We could have played a little bit smarter down the stretch. We foul a 3-point shooter, we had a free throw block out, those little plays add up but overall we did a lot of things well. Lamine got going in the second half. I thought Terrell made big shots. Darius was terrific - he had a phenomenal start to the game and we needed it. Elijah had a basket, a 10-footer, which was a big one late in the game. Cal Poly is a tough team and a lot better than they were a year ago. Sometimes in college basketball in the month of February you've just got to grind them out. We did a good job and found a way to win. That's the most important thing."
UP NEXT
The Matadors make the trip to UC Davis on Saturday night. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m. on BigWest.TV. Ghizal Hasan will call the action in an audio broadcast on the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health.
#UniteTheValley
Â
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