Saturday, February 6
Northridge, Calif.
2:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
7-8, 3-5BWC
63
vs
75
UC Davis
4-6, 1-3BWC
1
2
F
UC Davis
36
39
75
CSUN
19
44
63
Team Stats
UCD
CSUN
FG%
.443
.400
3FG%
.455
.333
FT%
.733
.667
RB
43
31
TO
16
11
STL
6
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Heidi Eligio
CSUN Rally Falls Short in Loss to UC Davis
2/6/2021 4:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball (7-8, 3-5 Big West) cut a 21-point deficit to four with less than six minutes to play but UC Davis (4-6, 1-3 Big West) prevailed in the final minutes for a 75-63 decision on Saturday afternoon at The Matadome. TJ Starks led all Matador scorers with 18 points to go with three rebounds and three assists while Alex Merkviladze tallied 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting with seven rebounds.
After a poor shooting first half, the Matadors shot 50.0 percent in the second half for a 40.0 percent clip for the game. In contrast, the Aggies shot 44.3 percent for the afternoon. CSUN made 7-of-21 from 3-point range (33.3 percent) and UC Davis hit 10-of-22 (45.5 percent). In the free throw department, the Aggies also had the edge, shooting 11-of-15 (73.3 percent) while the Matadors went 12-of-18 (66.7 percent). UC Davis controlled the glass too, out-rebounding the Matadors 43-31.
FIRST HALF
CSUN spotted UC Davis the first eight points of the game until finally cracking the scoring column on a free throw from Ron Artest III. The Aggies made seven of their first 10 shots while CSUN missed its first six shots and did not record its first field goal until the 12:41 mark of the half on a 3-pointer from Atin Wright. UC Davis would build an 18-4 lead on a BJ Shaw layup on the ensuing possession. CSUN pulled to within 10 points after a Fidelis Okereke basket but the Aggies answered with a 9-0 run, capped by four-straight points from Caleb Fuller.
The lead swelled to 20 points (30-10) following a 3-pointer from Cameron Ba and the lead later extended to its biggest of the game at 33-12 after another trey from Fuller with 5:37 left on the clock. Shooting just 28.0 percent in the half (7-of-25), the Matadors looked up at a 36-15 deficit before late baskets from Merkviladze and Starks. The Aggies though went into the break ahead 36-19.
SECOND HALF
After briefly cutting the deficit down to 14, the Matadors surrendered consecutive 3-pointers from Elijah Pepper to fall behind 47-27 with 16:46 left to play. CSUN though would show little quit in the second half as Merkviladze began the Matadors' rally with a layup. Darius Brown II followed with a 3-pointer and Starks found the bottom of the net from long range as well to bring CSUN to within 49-37. Merkviladze later closed an 8-0 CSUN run to trim the Aggie lead to 49-42 with 12:22 on the clock.
CSUN closed the gap even further on a jumper from Amound Anderson as the lead stood at 51-46. Ezra Manjon would stop the run with a basket on the ensuing possession and he added another bucket 34 seconds later. Starks and Merkviladze scored 12 apiece in the second half for CSUN as the Matadors continued to chip away at the lead. Starks drilled a triple with 5:46 left to play, bringing the Matadors to within 59-55. However, the final minutes belonged to the Aggies as a 9-0 run quickly pushed the lead back to 13 points. Pepper drilled another 3-pointer, one of his four on the game, with 2:33 left to play that extended the lead to 71-57. CSUN would be unable to get the lead under single digits the rest of the way.
GAME NOTES
Brown II recorded an assist for the 81st-straight game on Saturday while his five steals are a career-high. Okereke finished with five rebounds, four blocks and four points in 17 minutes of action. Wright chipped in with seven points and three rebounds. Making his first appearance since Jan. 17, Anderson had two points and two rebounds in 13 minutes.
For the Aggies, Pepper had a team-high 18 points while Fuller had 14 points.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"You've got to give those guys credit, they really played well in the first half and I thought we were really bad. We got off to such a poor start and it was on both ends of the floor. Offensively, we got impatient, its happened a number of times with our team this year. Defensively, I thought we didn't have the energy we had yesterday. I thought in the second half, you've got to give our guys a lot of credit, they battled really hard. We got it down to about five, we were knocking on the door right there, but we had a couple of turnovers, quick shots and didn't have enough poise. That sometimes happens when you have a lot of young guys on the floor. First half we didn't have much effort, the second half we had tremendous effort, we just dug too big a hole. You can't do that against a good basketball team and a well-coached team."
UP NEXT
The Matadors' next scheduled game at the moment is a two-game series with Hawai'i at The Matadome from Feb. 19-20. Both games are set to tip-off at 4 p.m. Stay tuned to GoMatadors.com for any further updates to the Matadors' schedule should CSUN add a game next week.
#UniteTheValley
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After a poor shooting first half, the Matadors shot 50.0 percent in the second half for a 40.0 percent clip for the game. In contrast, the Aggies shot 44.3 percent for the afternoon. CSUN made 7-of-21 from 3-point range (33.3 percent) and UC Davis hit 10-of-22 (45.5 percent). In the free throw department, the Aggies also had the edge, shooting 11-of-15 (73.3 percent) while the Matadors went 12-of-18 (66.7 percent). UC Davis controlled the glass too, out-rebounding the Matadors 43-31.
FIRST HALF
CSUN spotted UC Davis the first eight points of the game until finally cracking the scoring column on a free throw from Ron Artest III. The Aggies made seven of their first 10 shots while CSUN missed its first six shots and did not record its first field goal until the 12:41 mark of the half on a 3-pointer from Atin Wright. UC Davis would build an 18-4 lead on a BJ Shaw layup on the ensuing possession. CSUN pulled to within 10 points after a Fidelis Okereke basket but the Aggies answered with a 9-0 run, capped by four-straight points from Caleb Fuller.
The lead swelled to 20 points (30-10) following a 3-pointer from Cameron Ba and the lead later extended to its biggest of the game at 33-12 after another trey from Fuller with 5:37 left on the clock. Shooting just 28.0 percent in the half (7-of-25), the Matadors looked up at a 36-15 deficit before late baskets from Merkviladze and Starks. The Aggies though went into the break ahead 36-19.
SECOND HALF
After briefly cutting the deficit down to 14, the Matadors surrendered consecutive 3-pointers from Elijah Pepper to fall behind 47-27 with 16:46 left to play. CSUN though would show little quit in the second half as Merkviladze began the Matadors' rally with a layup. Darius Brown II followed with a 3-pointer and Starks found the bottom of the net from long range as well to bring CSUN to within 49-37. Merkviladze later closed an 8-0 CSUN run to trim the Aggie lead to 49-42 with 12:22 on the clock.
CSUN closed the gap even further on a jumper from Amound Anderson as the lead stood at 51-46. Ezra Manjon would stop the run with a basket on the ensuing possession and he added another bucket 34 seconds later. Starks and Merkviladze scored 12 apiece in the second half for CSUN as the Matadors continued to chip away at the lead. Starks drilled a triple with 5:46 left to play, bringing the Matadors to within 59-55. However, the final minutes belonged to the Aggies as a 9-0 run quickly pushed the lead back to 13 points. Pepper drilled another 3-pointer, one of his four on the game, with 2:33 left to play that extended the lead to 71-57. CSUN would be unable to get the lead under single digits the rest of the way.
GAME NOTES
Brown II recorded an assist for the 81st-straight game on Saturday while his five steals are a career-high. Okereke finished with five rebounds, four blocks and four points in 17 minutes of action. Wright chipped in with seven points and three rebounds. Making his first appearance since Jan. 17, Anderson had two points and two rebounds in 13 minutes.
For the Aggies, Pepper had a team-high 18 points while Fuller had 14 points.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"You've got to give those guys credit, they really played well in the first half and I thought we were really bad. We got off to such a poor start and it was on both ends of the floor. Offensively, we got impatient, its happened a number of times with our team this year. Defensively, I thought we didn't have the energy we had yesterday. I thought in the second half, you've got to give our guys a lot of credit, they battled really hard. We got it down to about five, we were knocking on the door right there, but we had a couple of turnovers, quick shots and didn't have enough poise. That sometimes happens when you have a lot of young guys on the floor. First half we didn't have much effort, the second half we had tremendous effort, we just dug too big a hole. You can't do that against a good basketball team and a well-coached team."
UP NEXT
The Matadors' next scheduled game at the moment is a two-game series with Hawai'i at The Matadome from Feb. 19-20. Both games are set to tip-off at 4 p.m. Stay tuned to GoMatadors.com for any further updates to the Matadors' schedule should CSUN add a game next week.
#UniteTheValley
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