Saturday, January 30
San Luis Obispo, Calif.
4:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
6-7, 2-4BWC
64
at
51
Cal Poly
3-11, 1-7BWC
1
2
F
CSUN
27
37
64
Cal Poly
27
24
51
Team Stats
CSUN
CPO
FG%
.442
.368
3FG%
.381
.250
FT%
.833
1.000
RB
32
34
TO
15
19
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Heidi Eligio
CSUN Bounces Back with 64-51 Win at Cal Poly
1/30/2021 5:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball (6-7, 2-4 Big West) earned a series split with Cal Poly (3-11, 1-7 Big West), winning 64-51 on Saturday at Mott Athletics Center. Junior TJ Starks came off the bench and scored 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting while freshman Atin Wright scored 14 points and made 4-of-6 3-point shots. In contrast to last night's ending, the Matadors wrapped up the final four-plus minutes with a 10-2 run to pick up the road win and snap their four-game losing streak.
Junior Darius Brown II collected a career-high 11 rebounds to go with nine points and two assists. Freshman Alex Merkviladze added eight points, three rebounds and three assists.
The Matadors shot over 54 percent in the second half to finish the game with a 44.2 field goal percentage while the Mustangs shot 36.8 percent for the contest. CSUN made 10-of-12 at the free throw line compared to the Mustangs who went 2-for-2. The Mustangs edged the Matadors in rebounds at 34-32 but CSUN had the advantage in points off turnovers (22-15) and bench points (32-11).
FIRST HALF
After Cal Poly rallied past CSUN with a 16-4 run to conclude last night's game, the Mustangs equaled that effort to start Saturday's game as they raced out to a 16-4 lead. CSUN missed its first eight shots and would go 1-of-13 to start the game. Coming off the bench, Starks gave the Matadors a lift offensively, scoring 11-straight Matador points during one stretch to help bring his team back into the game.
Miles Brookins would start a 10-0 CSUN run after a steal and breakaway layup on the other end. Starks wrapped up the spurt with a jumper to put the Matadors on top 25-19. Cal Poly though ended the period scoring the final five points to tie the game at 27-27 at the break. Brantly Stevenson nailed a 3-pointer to square the game in the final seconds. Starks scored 17 of his 21 points in the opening stanza.
SECOND HALF
It would be a seesaw opening four minutes before the Matadors received 3-pointers from Wright and Brown II to reclaim a 42-39 lead. Brown II would later score in transition and Merkviladze added a jumper to put CSUN on top by seven. Shortly after a 3-point play from Alimamy Koroma, Merkviladze drilled two-straight 3-pointers to quickly give the Matadors a 52-42 lead with 9:17 on the clock.
The Mustangs were held without a point for three minutes before scoring seven unanswered to pull within 54-49. Needing a bucket, the Matadors again turned to their freshman as Wright sank another 3-pointer. Back on the defensive side, the Matadors picked up four-straight stops, holding the Mustangs without a point for three-plus minutes. Koroma would finally end the dry spell with a dunk to cut the lead to eight with 1:11 to play but Wright followed with a timely 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to seal a CSUN win. The Matadors outscored the Mustangs 37-24 in the second half.
GAME NOTES
Wright made his first career start on Saturday but made his most mark on the game in the second half where he scored all of his 14 points. Starks added three rebounds, three assists and three steals to his stat line. In seven minutes, Festus Ndumanya grabbed four rebounds.
For the Mustangs, Koroma had a team-high 13 points.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"[Our defense] was the biggest thing that stood out. We came in here yesterday, they were able to get 76 points, we were in a four or five-game stretch where everybody was lighting us up. We were better today, we were moving our feet, we got down in a stance. Especially with a lot of new players, you've got to learn and I hope our guys learned tonight. That's how you've got to defend. We're quick enough, we have some guys that can guard. I thought defensively we were a lot better and offensively, we were really unselfish. I'm always a believer, when you're really unselfish it's amazing how shots start to fall down. Both ends of the floor, we were a lot better today than we were yesterday."
UP NEXT
CSUN returns home next weekend for back-to-back games against UC Davis starting Friday at 4 p.m. Each game will stream live on BigWest.TV with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call.
#UniteTheValley
Â
Junior Darius Brown II collected a career-high 11 rebounds to go with nine points and two assists. Freshman Alex Merkviladze added eight points, three rebounds and three assists.
The Matadors shot over 54 percent in the second half to finish the game with a 44.2 field goal percentage while the Mustangs shot 36.8 percent for the contest. CSUN made 10-of-12 at the free throw line compared to the Mustangs who went 2-for-2. The Mustangs edged the Matadors in rebounds at 34-32 but CSUN had the advantage in points off turnovers (22-15) and bench points (32-11).
FIRST HALF
After Cal Poly rallied past CSUN with a 16-4 run to conclude last night's game, the Mustangs equaled that effort to start Saturday's game as they raced out to a 16-4 lead. CSUN missed its first eight shots and would go 1-of-13 to start the game. Coming off the bench, Starks gave the Matadors a lift offensively, scoring 11-straight Matador points during one stretch to help bring his team back into the game.
Miles Brookins would start a 10-0 CSUN run after a steal and breakaway layup on the other end. Starks wrapped up the spurt with a jumper to put the Matadors on top 25-19. Cal Poly though ended the period scoring the final five points to tie the game at 27-27 at the break. Brantly Stevenson nailed a 3-pointer to square the game in the final seconds. Starks scored 17 of his 21 points in the opening stanza.
SECOND HALF
It would be a seesaw opening four minutes before the Matadors received 3-pointers from Wright and Brown II to reclaim a 42-39 lead. Brown II would later score in transition and Merkviladze added a jumper to put CSUN on top by seven. Shortly after a 3-point play from Alimamy Koroma, Merkviladze drilled two-straight 3-pointers to quickly give the Matadors a 52-42 lead with 9:17 on the clock.
The Mustangs were held without a point for three minutes before scoring seven unanswered to pull within 54-49. Needing a bucket, the Matadors again turned to their freshman as Wright sank another 3-pointer. Back on the defensive side, the Matadors picked up four-straight stops, holding the Mustangs without a point for three-plus minutes. Koroma would finally end the dry spell with a dunk to cut the lead to eight with 1:11 to play but Wright followed with a timely 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to seal a CSUN win. The Matadors outscored the Mustangs 37-24 in the second half.
GAME NOTES
Wright made his first career start on Saturday but made his most mark on the game in the second half where he scored all of his 14 points. Starks added three rebounds, three assists and three steals to his stat line. In seven minutes, Festus Ndumanya grabbed four rebounds.
For the Mustangs, Koroma had a team-high 13 points.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"[Our defense] was the biggest thing that stood out. We came in here yesterday, they were able to get 76 points, we were in a four or five-game stretch where everybody was lighting us up. We were better today, we were moving our feet, we got down in a stance. Especially with a lot of new players, you've got to learn and I hope our guys learned tonight. That's how you've got to defend. We're quick enough, we have some guys that can guard. I thought defensively we were a lot better and offensively, we were really unselfish. I'm always a believer, when you're really unselfish it's amazing how shots start to fall down. Both ends of the floor, we were a lot better today than we were yesterday."
UP NEXT
CSUN returns home next weekend for back-to-back games against UC Davis starting Friday at 4 p.m. Each game will stream live on BigWest.TV with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call.
#UniteTheValley
Â
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