Team Stats
CSUN
IRVINE
FG%
.500
.439
3FG%
.500
.364
FT%
.647
.571
RB
32
38
TO
10
10
STL
5
7
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Photo by: Paul Trafecanty
Matadors Post First Win at UC Irvine Since 2011
3/4/2020 10:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
IRVINE, Calif.---Sophomore Elijah Harkless scored a career-high 30 points to lead CSUN Men's Basketball (14-17, 9-6 Big West) to a road win at UC Irvine (21-11, 13-3 Big West) 72-70 on Wednesday at the Bren Events Center. Harkless finished with seven rebounds and two steals while sophomore Lamine Diane posted 18 points and eight rebounds. Junior Terrell Gomez chipped in with 12 points.
The win over the Anteaters is the Matadors' first since 2014, snapping an 11-game skid in the series. CSUN also earned its first victory at the Bren Events Center since 2011, which breaks an eight-game streak. The loss for UCI snaps a 13-game home conference winning streak while the defeat is just the second at the Bren Events Center this season.
CSUN shot an even 50.0 percent from the field and made 7-of-14 from 3-point range while the Anteaters finished with a 43.9 shooting percentage and 8-of-22 effort from downtown (36.4 percent). UCI out-rebounded CSUN 38-32 but the Matadors had the advantage in points off turnovers at 16-11.
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FIRST HALF
The Matadors jumped out to a 10-2 start at the first media timeout led by seven early points from Harkless. Out of the timeout, Harkless drained a 3-pointer then Diane buried a trey of his own to put UCI into a 16-2 hole. CSUN would lead by as many as 16 points in the first half as Diane hit the bottom of the net on a turnaround jumper, making it a 20-4 game. The Anteaters would get their offense on track shortly thereafter and put together an 11-2 run to pull within 22-15.
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Led by 16 first-half points from Harkless, CSUN continued to hold onto its lead until the final seconds of the stanza. After Gomez knocked down a 3-pointer, Harkless sank a mid-range jumper to put CSUN up 33-24. In the final two minutes though the Anteaters picked up timely 3-pointers from Evan Leonard and Collin Welp to catch the Matadors. Darius Brown II would push the lead to three on a jumper but Welp drilled a 3-pointer to beat the halftime buzzer, tying the game at 35-35.
SECOND HALF
The Anteaters made their first six shots out of halftime to quickly put CSUN behind 49-42. The lead would swell to nine points after a jumper from Tommy Rutherford. Looking up at their biggest deficit of the night, the Matadors kept on battling down the stretch of the second half. CSUN quickly put together a 7-0 run to trim the deficit to two, capped off by a Diane dunk in transition. After Diane made another move to the hoop for two, Harkless knocked down a mid-range jumper to pull CSUN within one.
Diane would score four-straight CSUN points near the seven-minute mark to once again put the Matadors in front at 61-60. The teams traded big baskets down the stretch as Harkless briefly gave the Matadors a two-point lead before Leonard hit a 3-pointer. The Anteaters led by three following a Brad Greene layup but Brendan Harrick followed with a game-tying 3-pointer on the ensuing possession. UCI once again pulled in front 68-66, however Harkless came through with a timely 15-footer to square the game with 2:22 to play.
Harkless then picked up a block on the defensive end, which led to a UCI foul on CSUN's next possession. Gomez calmly made both at the line to give CSUN a two-point edge. Harkless was also fouled moments later and hit both shots from the charity stripe, making it a 72-68 game. In the final minute, the Anteaters pulled to within two but could not come away with the deciding basket in the closing moments. CSUN withstood two last-second 3-pointers to hold on for the win.
GAME NOTES
Gomez moved into fourth place on the Matadors' career scoring list, surpassing Ian Boylan (2001-05), and now stands at 1,613 points. Diane also climbed into 10th on the scoring list with 1,270 points, ahead of Jeff Parris (1997-01).
Harkless made 12-of-19 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. Brown II had seven points and five assists while Jared Pearre grabbed five rebounds. The Matadors are the first team to shoot 50 percent or better against UC Irvine this season.
For the Anteaters, Greene scored a team-high 14 points.
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ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"I'm so proud and happy for our players. They were excited in the locker room. Everybody stepped up, you could go down the line. Elijah had a massive game, Lamine was terrific - he made big buckets, Brendan Harrick had a big three down here, Jared played some great defense, Darius, Festus, all of them [played well]. Everybody that played contributed. Our zone helped us late, it kind of changed the last eight to 10 minutes of the game. We just stepped up and made some big plays.
It's a great momentum win for us too. Now we've won three in a row. You want to be at your best in February and March. We're starting to trend upward and play really well. We have a big one Saturday. We'll see how it plays out but I'm excited for our players."
UP NEXT
CSUN concludes the regular season on Saturday against Hawai'i inside The Matadome at 7 p.m. The game will broadcast on ESPN3 while Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister are on the call in an audio broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio starting at 6:50 p.m.
#UniteTheValley
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The win over the Anteaters is the Matadors' first since 2014, snapping an 11-game skid in the series. CSUN also earned its first victory at the Bren Events Center since 2011, which breaks an eight-game streak. The loss for UCI snaps a 13-game home conference winning streak while the defeat is just the second at the Bren Events Center this season.
CSUN shot an even 50.0 percent from the field and made 7-of-14 from 3-point range while the Anteaters finished with a 43.9 shooting percentage and 8-of-22 effort from downtown (36.4 percent). UCI out-rebounded CSUN 38-32 but the Matadors had the advantage in points off turnovers at 16-11.
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FIRST HALF
The Matadors jumped out to a 10-2 start at the first media timeout led by seven early points from Harkless. Out of the timeout, Harkless drained a 3-pointer then Diane buried a trey of his own to put UCI into a 16-2 hole. CSUN would lead by as many as 16 points in the first half as Diane hit the bottom of the net on a turnaround jumper, making it a 20-4 game. The Anteaters would get their offense on track shortly thereafter and put together an 11-2 run to pull within 22-15.
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Led by 16 first-half points from Harkless, CSUN continued to hold onto its lead until the final seconds of the stanza. After Gomez knocked down a 3-pointer, Harkless sank a mid-range jumper to put CSUN up 33-24. In the final two minutes though the Anteaters picked up timely 3-pointers from Evan Leonard and Collin Welp to catch the Matadors. Darius Brown II would push the lead to three on a jumper but Welp drilled a 3-pointer to beat the halftime buzzer, tying the game at 35-35.
SECOND HALF
The Anteaters made their first six shots out of halftime to quickly put CSUN behind 49-42. The lead would swell to nine points after a jumper from Tommy Rutherford. Looking up at their biggest deficit of the night, the Matadors kept on battling down the stretch of the second half. CSUN quickly put together a 7-0 run to trim the deficit to two, capped off by a Diane dunk in transition. After Diane made another move to the hoop for two, Harkless knocked down a mid-range jumper to pull CSUN within one.
Diane would score four-straight CSUN points near the seven-minute mark to once again put the Matadors in front at 61-60. The teams traded big baskets down the stretch as Harkless briefly gave the Matadors a two-point lead before Leonard hit a 3-pointer. The Anteaters led by three following a Brad Greene layup but Brendan Harrick followed with a game-tying 3-pointer on the ensuing possession. UCI once again pulled in front 68-66, however Harkless came through with a timely 15-footer to square the game with 2:22 to play.
Harkless then picked up a block on the defensive end, which led to a UCI foul on CSUN's next possession. Gomez calmly made both at the line to give CSUN a two-point edge. Harkless was also fouled moments later and hit both shots from the charity stripe, making it a 72-68 game. In the final minute, the Anteaters pulled to within two but could not come away with the deciding basket in the closing moments. CSUN withstood two last-second 3-pointers to hold on for the win.
GAME NOTES
Gomez moved into fourth place on the Matadors' career scoring list, surpassing Ian Boylan (2001-05), and now stands at 1,613 points. Diane also climbed into 10th on the scoring list with 1,270 points, ahead of Jeff Parris (1997-01).
Harkless made 12-of-19 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. Brown II had seven points and five assists while Jared Pearre grabbed five rebounds. The Matadors are the first team to shoot 50 percent or better against UC Irvine this season.
For the Anteaters, Greene scored a team-high 14 points.
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ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"I'm so proud and happy for our players. They were excited in the locker room. Everybody stepped up, you could go down the line. Elijah had a massive game, Lamine was terrific - he made big buckets, Brendan Harrick had a big three down here, Jared played some great defense, Darius, Festus, all of them [played well]. Everybody that played contributed. Our zone helped us late, it kind of changed the last eight to 10 minutes of the game. We just stepped up and made some big plays.
It's a great momentum win for us too. Now we've won three in a row. You want to be at your best in February and March. We're starting to trend upward and play really well. We have a big one Saturday. We'll see how it plays out but I'm excited for our players."
UP NEXT
CSUN concludes the regular season on Saturday against Hawai'i inside The Matadome at 7 p.m. The game will broadcast on ESPN3 while Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister are on the call in an audio broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio starting at 6:50 p.m.
#UniteTheValley
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