Saturday, March 6
Northridge, Calif.
4:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
9-12, 5-9BWC
65
vs
66
UC Riverside
13-7, 8-4BWC
1
2
F
UC Riverside
33
33
66
CSUN
38
27
65
Team Stats
UCR
CSUN
FG%
.356
.459
3FG%
.185
.273
FT%
.760
.273
RB
42
37
TO
10
12
STL
7
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Heidi Eligio
CSUN Loses Heartbreaker to UC Riverside, 66-65
3/6/2021 6:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---A go-ahead basket with 38 seconds left was the difference in CSUN's Men's Basketball's (9-12, 5-9 Big West) 66-65 loss to UC Riverside (13-7, 8-4 Big West) on Saturday afternoon at The Matadome. TJ Starks led all scorers with 25 points to go with four assists while Alex Merkviladze posted 13 points and 13 rebounds. Darius Brown II added 12 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals. The Matadors led for the entire contest until the final seconds as UCR ended the game on an 11-2 run.
CSUN secured the eighth seed in the Big West Basketball Championship and will play Tuesday in opening round action against Long Beach State.
CSUN shot 45.9 percent from the field while it made 6-of-22 from 3-point range. The Matadors though struggled from the free throw line, making 3-of-11 for the game (27.3 percent). On the flip side, the Highlanders shot 35.6 percent from the field but made 19-of-25 from the free throw line (76.0 percent). UCR won the rebounding battle 42-37 while points in the paint were even at 26-26.
FIRST HALF
CSUN came out of the gates quickly, scoring the game's first seven points. After UCR scored its first points at the free throw line, the Matadors scored the next 11 points to stake to an 18-2 lead. During the run, Amound Anderson scored five points while Fidelis Okereke scored four, highlighted by an emphatic dunk. CSUN's lead stretched to its biggest of the day at 21-4 after a 3-pointer from Starks with 13:18 on the clock. Things though would turn around after the Starks basket. A five-minute dry spell for the Matadors allowed the Highlanders to cut into the lead.
Oliver Hayes-Brown would cap a 10-0 UCR spurt that cut the CSUN lead to seven. The Matadors would cool the Highlanders with five-straight points to go back ahead 26-14. After the Highlanders trimmed the lead down to seven, the Matadors picked up a 3-pointer from Merkviladze followed by a basket from Starks to take a 38-26 lead. However, the final two minutes belonged to UCR. A 7-0 run from the Highlanders, highlighted by a last-second 3-pointer from Flynn Cameron closed the half, cutting CSUN's lead to 38-33 at the break.
SECOND HALF
The Matadors' backcourt of Starks and Brown II scored the team's first 11 points to start the second half. A Brown II jumper pushed CSUN in front by eight before the Highlanders scored the next six points to pull to within two. Starks would give the Matadors breathing room with a 3-pointer at the 13-minute mark to stretch the lead to 51-46. Moments later, UCR cut the lead down to one with 10 minutes to play after Jock Perry scored back-to-back baskets. Seeing their lead shrink to its smallest margin, the Matadors responded with a 10-1 run, capped by an Anderson layup, to extend to a 61-51 lead.
CSUN's lead stood at eight with four minutes to play before UCR made another push. George Willborn III forced a CSUN turnover and converted on a layup. Perry would score down low then Will Tattersall drilled a 3-pointer to trim the Matadors' advantage to 63-62. On the ensuing possession, Brown II knocked down a jumper with 1:45 to play to make it a three-point game. After Cameron cut the lead back to one on a layup, the Highlanders took their first lead of the game on a layup from Perry with 38 seconds to play. CSUN would get two looks at the basket including a last-second 3-pointer from Starks but both shots went off the mark, giving the Highlanders the one-point win.
GAME NOTES
Merkviladze recorded his third double-double of the season and fifth double-digit rebounding effort of the year. Anderson scored seven points and dished out a season-high six assists. Okereke added seven rebounds, five points, three steals and three blocks.
Making his 85th straight-start, Brown II moved into the Matadors' all-time top-10 list for career starts, tying Todd Bowser (1986-91) for 10th place.
For the Highlanders, Cameron scored a team-high 18 points while Zyon Pullin added 11 points.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"I'm really proud. Our guys bounced back from yesterday. They played really hard and played really well. Two things jump out, our foul shooting was probably an Achilles heel today and it really hurt us. And we're a good foul shooting team so that was just unusual. And then in the second half, it was our turnovers. We had a couple against their full-court press and it led to baskets. We're trying to make plays that really weren't there. We executed today a lot better than yesterday, even in the last play we end up getting a good shot. We're down one, TJ had a great look at it and didn't make it.
It's a new season [next week at the Big West Tournament], our guys have to look at it like that. We've been knocking on the door a lot. We've proven we're good enough to win some games. We'll see what happens. We're going to have the right mindset, a great attitude and go over there to win games. I know our guys will be excited to play."
UP NEXT
The eighth-seeded Matadors play the ninth-seeded Long Beach State on Tuesday at 3 p.m. in Las Vegas at the 2021 Air Force Reserve Big West Basketball Championship, presented by the Hawaiian Islands. The game will air on ESPN3 while Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister will call the action at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#UniteTheValley
CSUN secured the eighth seed in the Big West Basketball Championship and will play Tuesday in opening round action against Long Beach State.
CSUN shot 45.9 percent from the field while it made 6-of-22 from 3-point range. The Matadors though struggled from the free throw line, making 3-of-11 for the game (27.3 percent). On the flip side, the Highlanders shot 35.6 percent from the field but made 19-of-25 from the free throw line (76.0 percent). UCR won the rebounding battle 42-37 while points in the paint were even at 26-26.
FIRST HALF
CSUN came out of the gates quickly, scoring the game's first seven points. After UCR scored its first points at the free throw line, the Matadors scored the next 11 points to stake to an 18-2 lead. During the run, Amound Anderson scored five points while Fidelis Okereke scored four, highlighted by an emphatic dunk. CSUN's lead stretched to its biggest of the day at 21-4 after a 3-pointer from Starks with 13:18 on the clock. Things though would turn around after the Starks basket. A five-minute dry spell for the Matadors allowed the Highlanders to cut into the lead.
Oliver Hayes-Brown would cap a 10-0 UCR spurt that cut the CSUN lead to seven. The Matadors would cool the Highlanders with five-straight points to go back ahead 26-14. After the Highlanders trimmed the lead down to seven, the Matadors picked up a 3-pointer from Merkviladze followed by a basket from Starks to take a 38-26 lead. However, the final two minutes belonged to UCR. A 7-0 run from the Highlanders, highlighted by a last-second 3-pointer from Flynn Cameron closed the half, cutting CSUN's lead to 38-33 at the break.
SECOND HALF
The Matadors' backcourt of Starks and Brown II scored the team's first 11 points to start the second half. A Brown II jumper pushed CSUN in front by eight before the Highlanders scored the next six points to pull to within two. Starks would give the Matadors breathing room with a 3-pointer at the 13-minute mark to stretch the lead to 51-46. Moments later, UCR cut the lead down to one with 10 minutes to play after Jock Perry scored back-to-back baskets. Seeing their lead shrink to its smallest margin, the Matadors responded with a 10-1 run, capped by an Anderson layup, to extend to a 61-51 lead.
CSUN's lead stood at eight with four minutes to play before UCR made another push. George Willborn III forced a CSUN turnover and converted on a layup. Perry would score down low then Will Tattersall drilled a 3-pointer to trim the Matadors' advantage to 63-62. On the ensuing possession, Brown II knocked down a jumper with 1:45 to play to make it a three-point game. After Cameron cut the lead back to one on a layup, the Highlanders took their first lead of the game on a layup from Perry with 38 seconds to play. CSUN would get two looks at the basket including a last-second 3-pointer from Starks but both shots went off the mark, giving the Highlanders the one-point win.
GAME NOTES
Merkviladze recorded his third double-double of the season and fifth double-digit rebounding effort of the year. Anderson scored seven points and dished out a season-high six assists. Okereke added seven rebounds, five points, three steals and three blocks.
Making his 85th straight-start, Brown II moved into the Matadors' all-time top-10 list for career starts, tying Todd Bowser (1986-91) for 10th place.
For the Highlanders, Cameron scored a team-high 18 points while Zyon Pullin added 11 points.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"I'm really proud. Our guys bounced back from yesterday. They played really hard and played really well. Two things jump out, our foul shooting was probably an Achilles heel today and it really hurt us. And we're a good foul shooting team so that was just unusual. And then in the second half, it was our turnovers. We had a couple against their full-court press and it led to baskets. We're trying to make plays that really weren't there. We executed today a lot better than yesterday, even in the last play we end up getting a good shot. We're down one, TJ had a great look at it and didn't make it.
It's a new season [next week at the Big West Tournament], our guys have to look at it like that. We've been knocking on the door a lot. We've proven we're good enough to win some games. We'll see what happens. We're going to have the right mindset, a great attitude and go over there to win games. I know our guys will be excited to play."
UP NEXT
The eighth-seeded Matadors play the ninth-seeded Long Beach State on Tuesday at 3 p.m. in Las Vegas at the 2021 Air Force Reserve Big West Basketball Championship, presented by the Hawaiian Islands. The game will air on ESPN3 while Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister will call the action at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#UniteTheValley
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