CSUN Opens Big West Play on the Road at Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton

FULL GAME NOTES

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball begins Big West action on the road to wrap up the 2022 calendar year. The Matadors visit Cal Poly in the conference opener on Thursday at 7 p.m. before taking on Cal State Fullerton on New Year's Eve at 4 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call in audio broadcasts at GoMatadors.com/Radio.

LAST TIME OUT
CSUN (3-8) played in another tight contest last Thursday at Premier America Credit Union Arena. After falling in a number of close games during the non-conference season, the Matadors would come out on top this time, defeating San Diego 83-78. CSUN would lead for most of the game before holding off USD late in the contest. The Matadors made 9-of-17 from 3-point range while shooting 46 percent overall for the game. CSUN also had a season-high 10 steals.

Atin Wright led the way offensively, scoring a career-high 31 points on 8-of-13 shooting including going 5-of-8 from three. Fidelis Okereke tied a career best in points with 14 to go with eight rebounds while De'Sean Allen-Eikens had 12 points and Dionte Bostick finished with 10 points.

MATADOR HEADLINES
CSUN is ranked second in The Big West in opponent field goal percentage (39.5) and opponent 3-point field goal percentage (29.6) heading into league action. The Matadors' defensive field goal percentage is also 46th-best in the nation. CSUN leads The Big West in least turnovers per game (11.4) and it ranks second in free throw percentage (72.4).

Individually, Atin Wright is fifth in the league in points per game (15.5) while Dionte Bostick is 11th (13.6) and De'Sean Allen-Eikens is 17th (11.7). Wright also ranks second in free throw percentage (90.7), seventh in steals per game (1.5) and ninth in minutes per game (31.4). Bostick is ninth in assists per game (3.0) and 14th in steals per game (1.2).

During non-conference play, 11 total Matadors have made their debut with the program with the quartet of Bostick, Allen-Eikens, Ethan Igbanugo and Dearon Tucker playing in all 11 games. Atin Wright, the team's top returner from last season, is thus far on pace to set new career highs in scoring, rebounding (2.7), assists (1.9), field goal percentage (43.9) and 3-point percentage (35.4).

SERIES HISTORY
In a series that dates back to 1960, Cal Poly leads CSUN 56-53. The Matadors have won six of the last eight meetings including the last two in San Luis Obispo. Last season, CSUN swept the season series but would need double overtime to hold off the Mustangs in an 83-78 win behind a combined 50 points from Elijah Hardy and Atin Wright. CSUN prevailed at home 68-55.

CSUN's series with Cal State Fullerton dates back to 1960 as well with the Titans leading 50-36. Fullerton has won three in a row in the series as well as 10 of the last 12 overall. The Titans swept the Matadors last season, winning 79-64 at Titan Gym and 81-73 in Northridge. Wright averaged 19.5 points in the two games versus Fullerton.

SCOUTING CAL POLY
The Mustangs are 6-6 on the season and coming off a win over San Diego Christian (72-59) on Dec. 22 that snapped a three-game skid. Cal Poly has wins over the likes of Idaho (82-71), Pacific (62-58), California Baptist (64-53) and Portland State (72-49). Picked to finish ninth in the league this season, Cal Poly has seven newcomers on the roster. Head coach John Smith is in his fourth season with the program.

Alimamy Koroma leads the team with 11.7 points per game on 53.2 percent shooting. Trevon Taylor tops the team in rebounds per game (5.2) to go with his 10.3 points per game. Other key scorers include Brantly Stevenson (8.8 PPG) and Chance Hunter (8.7 PPG). As a team, the Mustangs are third in The Big West in scoring defense, allowing 64.6 points per game while the team is tops in the league in free throw percentage (75.4).

SCOUTING CAL STATE FULLERTON
Fullerton is 6-6 on the year following wins last week over San Diego Christian (87-35) and Sacramento State (59-49). The Titans also have victories over the likes of Pepperdine (74-71), Vermont (94-85) and Pacific (94-91). After winning last season's Big West Championship, the Titans have added nine newcomers to this season's roster. Head coach Dedrique Taylor is in his 10th season at the helm.

Four Titans are scoring in double figures with Latrell Wrightsell Jr. leading the way with a 15.5 average. Jalen Harris is scoring 12.8 points per game while Max Jones and Vincent Lee are averaging 10.4 and 10.3 points, respectively. Lee is the team's top rebounder with a 5.5 average. The Titans are second in The Big West in 3-point field goal percentage (36.6) as the team averages 69.3 points per game.

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CSUN Opens Big West Play on the Road at Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton

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Players Mentioned

De'Sean Allen-Eikens

Dionte Bostick

Elijah Hardy

Ethan Igbanugo

Fidelis Okereke

Dearon Tucker

Atin Wright