Sunday, January 17
Fullerton, Calif.
7:00 pm
California State University at Northridge
5-4,1-1Big West
77
at
85
Cal State Fullerton
3-4,2-4Big West
1
2
F
CSUN
41
36
77
Cal St. Fullerton
40
45
85
Team Stats
CSUN
CSF
FG%
.473
.508
3FG%
.360
.400
FT%
.941
.905
RB
22
33
TO
16
14
STL
10
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
9
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Braden Villanueva
CSUN Loses Close Battle at Cal State Fullerton
1/17/2021 8:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball
FULLERTON, Calif.---Freshman Atin Wright scored a season-high 22 points off the bench but it would not be enough as CSUN Men's Basketball (5-4, 1-1 Big West) dropped an 85-77 decision at Cal State Fullerton (3-4, 2-4 Big West) on Sunday evening at Titan Gym. The Matadors trimmed a 10-point deficit to one with less than five minutes to play but the Titans made key shots down the stretch to pick up the win and split the season series at one win apiece.
Junior Darius Brown II added 14 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals while junior Vante Hendrix chipped in with 14 points, four assists and three steals.
CSUN finished shooting 47.3 percent from the field while the Titans shot 50.8 percent for the night. The Matadors made 9-of-25 from 3-point range (36.0 percent) and hit 16-of-17 from the free throw line (94.1 percent). In contrast, the Titans knocked down 6-of-15 from behind the 3-point arc (40.0 percent) and converted on 19-of-21 from the charity stripe (90.5 percent). The Titans controlled the glass throughout the contest, out-rebounding the Matadors 33-22.
FIRST HALF
In a high-scoring first half, CSUN shot above 53 percent while Fullerton made 56 percent of its attempts. The Titans built a 9-5 lead after the first three minutes of the game before the Matadors answered with a 10-0 run, capped off by 3-pointers from Brendan Harrick and Hendrix. Fullerton would go on an 8-0 run of its own beginning with a Jaylen Harris basket at the 11:57 mark. Landis Spivey followed with consecutive 3-pointers to give the Titans a two-point edge (19-17).
After falling behind by four, the Matadors made three of four shots, highlighted by a dunk from George Nwogu to go ahead 26-23. Wright gave the Matadors a lift off the bench, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers in the latter stages of the half. Brown II would extend the lead to 41-34 on a driving layup with 2:26 left to play. Seemingly in control, the Matadors would hit a dry spell over the final two minutes of the half, giving the Titans a chance to capitalize. Tory San Antonio scored back-to-back baskets to fuel a Titan 6-0 run to end the half, cutting the CSUN lead to 41-40.
SECOND HALF
CSUN's struggles from the field continued to open the second half as the Matadors went without a point for the first five minutes. Meanwhile, Fullerton took back the lead, scoring six-straight points in a pivotal stretch of the game. Harrick recorded the Matadors' first field goal of the half with 14:25 on the clock but the Titans answered with another 6-0 run to put CSUN in a 54-45 hole.
Wright shouldered the load on the offensive end in the second half, scoring 16 of 22 points in the stanza to keep the Matadors within striking distance. The freshman would score eight-straight Matador points near the seven-minute mark before Brown II drained a 3-pointer to bring the Matadors to within 68-67. However, the Matadors would not be able to reclaim the lead in the final minutes. Vincent Lee scored seven over the final 4:21 of the game while San Antonio made a key 3-pointer with less than two minutes to go to help secure a Titan win.
GAME NOTES
Wright tallied 22 points in just 24 minutes of action as he made 5-of-9 from the field and 9-of-10 at the free throw line. Harrick and Alex Merkviladze scored nine points apiece. Nwogu scored his first career points as a Matador in the first half as he finished with four rebounds, two points and a block in 14 minutes.
The Matadors were again playing short-handed with starters TJ Starks and Lance Coleman II out of the lineup while Miles Brookins also missed the game.
For Fullerton, Lee scored a game-high 25 points and Spivey added 13 points.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"I thought we played really hard but I think we've got to get a little smarter at times. We had some critical errors but our effort was there and we played really hard. We had some guys out and people stepped up. Atin stepped in there and had a phenomenal game, George got a few minutes – he hadn't played a whole lot. When Festus got in foul trouble that hurt us some. We're still learning, we have to get better defensively, we have to get a little better at executing our offense and getting the right shot. There's no way I could fault our effort, we just came up a little bit short. Our kids played really hard."
UP NEXT
The Matadors open up a two-game series with UC Santa Barbara on Friday, Jan. 22 at The Matadome with tip-off set for 4 p.m. The game will stream live on BigWest.TV with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call beginning at 3:50 p.m.
#UniteTheValley
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Junior Darius Brown II added 14 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals while junior Vante Hendrix chipped in with 14 points, four assists and three steals.
CSUN finished shooting 47.3 percent from the field while the Titans shot 50.8 percent for the night. The Matadors made 9-of-25 from 3-point range (36.0 percent) and hit 16-of-17 from the free throw line (94.1 percent). In contrast, the Titans knocked down 6-of-15 from behind the 3-point arc (40.0 percent) and converted on 19-of-21 from the charity stripe (90.5 percent). The Titans controlled the glass throughout the contest, out-rebounding the Matadors 33-22.
FIRST HALF
In a high-scoring first half, CSUN shot above 53 percent while Fullerton made 56 percent of its attempts. The Titans built a 9-5 lead after the first three minutes of the game before the Matadors answered with a 10-0 run, capped off by 3-pointers from Brendan Harrick and Hendrix. Fullerton would go on an 8-0 run of its own beginning with a Jaylen Harris basket at the 11:57 mark. Landis Spivey followed with consecutive 3-pointers to give the Titans a two-point edge (19-17).
After falling behind by four, the Matadors made three of four shots, highlighted by a dunk from George Nwogu to go ahead 26-23. Wright gave the Matadors a lift off the bench, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers in the latter stages of the half. Brown II would extend the lead to 41-34 on a driving layup with 2:26 left to play. Seemingly in control, the Matadors would hit a dry spell over the final two minutes of the half, giving the Titans a chance to capitalize. Tory San Antonio scored back-to-back baskets to fuel a Titan 6-0 run to end the half, cutting the CSUN lead to 41-40.
SECOND HALF
CSUN's struggles from the field continued to open the second half as the Matadors went without a point for the first five minutes. Meanwhile, Fullerton took back the lead, scoring six-straight points in a pivotal stretch of the game. Harrick recorded the Matadors' first field goal of the half with 14:25 on the clock but the Titans answered with another 6-0 run to put CSUN in a 54-45 hole.
Wright shouldered the load on the offensive end in the second half, scoring 16 of 22 points in the stanza to keep the Matadors within striking distance. The freshman would score eight-straight Matador points near the seven-minute mark before Brown II drained a 3-pointer to bring the Matadors to within 68-67. However, the Matadors would not be able to reclaim the lead in the final minutes. Vincent Lee scored seven over the final 4:21 of the game while San Antonio made a key 3-pointer with less than two minutes to go to help secure a Titan win.
GAME NOTES
Wright tallied 22 points in just 24 minutes of action as he made 5-of-9 from the field and 9-of-10 at the free throw line. Harrick and Alex Merkviladze scored nine points apiece. Nwogu scored his first career points as a Matador in the first half as he finished with four rebounds, two points and a block in 14 minutes.
The Matadors were again playing short-handed with starters TJ Starks and Lance Coleman II out of the lineup while Miles Brookins also missed the game.
For Fullerton, Lee scored a game-high 25 points and Spivey added 13 points.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"I thought we played really hard but I think we've got to get a little smarter at times. We had some critical errors but our effort was there and we played really hard. We had some guys out and people stepped up. Atin stepped in there and had a phenomenal game, George got a few minutes – he hadn't played a whole lot. When Festus got in foul trouble that hurt us some. We're still learning, we have to get better defensively, we have to get a little better at executing our offense and getting the right shot. There's no way I could fault our effort, we just came up a little bit short. Our kids played really hard."
UP NEXT
The Matadors open up a two-game series with UC Santa Barbara on Friday, Jan. 22 at The Matadome with tip-off set for 4 p.m. The game will stream live on BigWest.TV with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call beginning at 3:50 p.m.
#UniteTheValley
Â
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