Thursday, December 22
Northridge, Calif.
1:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
vs
San Diego
Photo by: Cassandra Elena Yra
Matadors Close Non-Conference Play Hosting San Diego
12/21/2022 10:15:00 AM | Men's Basketball
FULL GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball wraps up non-conference play on Thursday when the Matadors host San Diego in a matinee matchup at 1 p.m. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call on ESPN+ and GoMatadors.com/Radio.
LAST TIME OUT
The Matadors (2-8) dropped a heartbreaker to Idaho 76-73 on Monday evening at Premier America Credit Union Arena. In a game with 15 lead changes and nine ties, CSUN led at halftime (42-39) and for nearly 26 minutes in the contest. The Matadors would lead with three minutes to play before committing three consecutive turnovers, giving the Vandals an opportunity to pull in front. After Marcel Stevens tied the game with 1:19 left to play on a three, Idaho took back the lead with less than a minute to play and held on in the final seconds.
Four Matadors scored in double figures with Atin Wright leading the way with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Dionte Bostick added 16 points, four rebounds and two steals while Stevens scored a career-high 12 points on 5-of-7 field goals. Ethan Igbanugo chipped in with 11 points. De'Sean Allen-Eikens also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to go with six points.
The Matadors have lost seven of eight games by less than 10 points this season.
MATADOR HEADLINES
CSUN enters its final non-conference game atop The Big West in least turnovers per game (10.6) while the Matadors are second in free throw percentage (71.5) and fourth in rebounds per game (38.2). On the defensive side, CSUN is second in The Big West in opponent field goal percentage (39.3) and opponent 3-point field goal percentage (30.1) while the team is third in scoring defense (65.0).
Three Matadors are averaging in double figures with Dionte Bostick leading the way with a 14.0 scoring average. Atin Wright is averaging 13.9 points and De'Sean Allen-Eikens is scoring 11.7 points per game. In The Big West, Bostick is ninth in the league in scoring followed by Wright in 10th place and Allen-Eikens in 19th place.
Wright also ranks third in The Big West in free throw percentage (87.9) while he is fifth in steals per game (1.6) and 11th in minutes per game (30.7). Bostick is 11th in the league in assists per game (2.9) and 17th in steals per game (1.1).
CSUN ANNOUNCES NICK HERRMANN MEMORIAL GAME
The Matadors will honor former student-athlete Nick Herrmann on Jan. 5 when CSUN hosts Long Beach State in the home Big West opener. CSUN will celebrate the life of Herrmann in a special halftime ceremony alongside members of his family.
Coach Johnson's first recruit at CSUN, Herrmann inspired many with his spirit and fight on the basketball court and in life. Hermann was poised to become a difference maker on the court for the Matadors, but just weeks into his summer training, Herrmann discovered the cancer that had plagued him in his sophomore year of high school had returned.
This season, both the CSUN men's and women's basketball teams are wearing a patch with Herrmann's initials in memory of his everlasting impact on both basketball programs.
SERIES HISTORY
San Diego leads CSUN in the all-time series dating back to the Matadors' inaugural season in 1958. The Matadors have won three of the last five meetings but the teams have played just four times over the past 10 seasons. CSUN handed USD a 56-52 defeat in San Diego last season with Atin Wright scoring a team-high 16 points.
The Matadors have played the Toreros 13 times in Northridge (6-7 record) with eight of those meetings taking place when CSUN was a Division II member. CSUN has not hosted USD since Jan. 2, 2002 when the Toreros collected an 82-66 win.Â
SCOUTING SAN DIEGO
The Toreros improved to 7-6 on the season with an overtime road win at UC Riverside (92-84) on Tuesday. USD earlier this month defeated another Big West team in UC San Diego by a 84-58 margin. The Toreros went 15-16 overall and 7-9 in the West Coast Conference last season. San Diego was picked to finish eighth in the WCC prior to the season by the league's head coaches. Steve Lavin is in his first season as head coach of San Diego in 2022-23.
An Oregon transfer, Eric Williams Jr. tops the team in scoring average (15.4) and rebounding average (10.7). Jase Townsend is a close second in scoring at 15.2 points per game to go with a 45.8 3-point field goal percentage (22-of-48). Other double-digit scorers include Marcellus Earlington (14.2 PPG) and Sigu Sisoho Jawara (12.2 PPG). As a team, USD is averaging 79.5 points per game while the team shoots 39.7 percent from 3-point range.
#UniteTheValley
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NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball wraps up non-conference play on Thursday when the Matadors host San Diego in a matinee matchup at 1 p.m. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call on ESPN+ and GoMatadors.com/Radio.
LAST TIME OUT
The Matadors (2-8) dropped a heartbreaker to Idaho 76-73 on Monday evening at Premier America Credit Union Arena. In a game with 15 lead changes and nine ties, CSUN led at halftime (42-39) and for nearly 26 minutes in the contest. The Matadors would lead with three minutes to play before committing three consecutive turnovers, giving the Vandals an opportunity to pull in front. After Marcel Stevens tied the game with 1:19 left to play on a three, Idaho took back the lead with less than a minute to play and held on in the final seconds.
Four Matadors scored in double figures with Atin Wright leading the way with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Dionte Bostick added 16 points, four rebounds and two steals while Stevens scored a career-high 12 points on 5-of-7 field goals. Ethan Igbanugo chipped in with 11 points. De'Sean Allen-Eikens also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to go with six points.
The Matadors have lost seven of eight games by less than 10 points this season.
MATADOR HEADLINES
CSUN enters its final non-conference game atop The Big West in least turnovers per game (10.6) while the Matadors are second in free throw percentage (71.5) and fourth in rebounds per game (38.2). On the defensive side, CSUN is second in The Big West in opponent field goal percentage (39.3) and opponent 3-point field goal percentage (30.1) while the team is third in scoring defense (65.0).
Three Matadors are averaging in double figures with Dionte Bostick leading the way with a 14.0 scoring average. Atin Wright is averaging 13.9 points and De'Sean Allen-Eikens is scoring 11.7 points per game. In The Big West, Bostick is ninth in the league in scoring followed by Wright in 10th place and Allen-Eikens in 19th place.
Wright also ranks third in The Big West in free throw percentage (87.9) while he is fifth in steals per game (1.6) and 11th in minutes per game (30.7). Bostick is 11th in the league in assists per game (2.9) and 17th in steals per game (1.1).
CSUN ANNOUNCES NICK HERRMANN MEMORIAL GAME
The Matadors will honor former student-athlete Nick Herrmann on Jan. 5 when CSUN hosts Long Beach State in the home Big West opener. CSUN will celebrate the life of Herrmann in a special halftime ceremony alongside members of his family.
Coach Johnson's first recruit at CSUN, Herrmann inspired many with his spirit and fight on the basketball court and in life. Hermann was poised to become a difference maker on the court for the Matadors, but just weeks into his summer training, Herrmann discovered the cancer that had plagued him in his sophomore year of high school had returned.
This season, both the CSUN men's and women's basketball teams are wearing a patch with Herrmann's initials in memory of his everlasting impact on both basketball programs.
SERIES HISTORY
San Diego leads CSUN in the all-time series dating back to the Matadors' inaugural season in 1958. The Matadors have won three of the last five meetings but the teams have played just four times over the past 10 seasons. CSUN handed USD a 56-52 defeat in San Diego last season with Atin Wright scoring a team-high 16 points.
The Matadors have played the Toreros 13 times in Northridge (6-7 record) with eight of those meetings taking place when CSUN was a Division II member. CSUN has not hosted USD since Jan. 2, 2002 when the Toreros collected an 82-66 win.Â
SCOUTING SAN DIEGO
The Toreros improved to 7-6 on the season with an overtime road win at UC Riverside (92-84) on Tuesday. USD earlier this month defeated another Big West team in UC San Diego by a 84-58 margin. The Toreros went 15-16 overall and 7-9 in the West Coast Conference last season. San Diego was picked to finish eighth in the WCC prior to the season by the league's head coaches. Steve Lavin is in his first season as head coach of San Diego in 2022-23.
An Oregon transfer, Eric Williams Jr. tops the team in scoring average (15.4) and rebounding average (10.7). Jase Townsend is a close second in scoring at 15.2 points per game to go with a 45.8 3-point field goal percentage (22-of-48). Other double-digit scorers include Marcellus Earlington (14.2 PPG) and Sigu Sisoho Jawara (12.2 PPG). As a team, USD is averaging 79.5 points per game while the team shoots 39.7 percent from 3-point range.
#UniteTheValley
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