Wednesday, December 7
Fresno, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
2-6,0-0Big West
56
at
65
Fresno State
3-5,0-0Mountain West
1
2
F
CSUN
30
26
56
Fresno St.
29
36
65
Photo by: Connor Clark
Matadors Fall at Fresno State, 65-56
12/7/2022 9:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
FRESNO, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball (2-6) fell on the road at Fresno State 65-56 on Wednesday evening at Save Mart Center. De'Sean Allen-Eikens finished with a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds while Atin Wright added 13 points. There were 12 lead changes in the game as CSUN trailed by two with three minutes to go before the Bulldogs closed the game on a 12-5 run.
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Fresno State began the game on a 6-0 run until Allen-Eikens drained a 3-pointer at the 17:28 mark of the first period. CSUN would dig a 10-3 hole before responding with an 8-0 run, highlighted by a pair of Ethan Igbanugo 3-pointers. Allen-Eikens shouldered the load offensively for the Matadors in the first half, scoring 14 of his 20 points. During a 7-0 CSUN run, Allen-Eikens scored five of those points to help the Matadors build a 20-15 lead.
CSUN would hold Fresno State without a field goal for four minutes but that trend turned around minutes later. The Bulldogs put together an 8-0 run, capitalizing on a three-plus Matador scoring drought, to take a three-point lead. Isaih Moore's dunk gave the Bulldogs a 26-23 edge with 4:18 left to play before CSUN closed the half on a 7-2 run. Wright drilled a 3-pointer to break a 27-27 tie with less than two minutes on the clock before the Bulldogs made two late free throws to cut the Matador lead to 30-29 at intermission.
The Matadors completed an 8-0 spurt early in the second half to build a 38-31 lead. However, in a near-five minute scoring drought, the Matadors missed four consecutive shots and committed two turnovers. On the flip side, the Bulldogs turned to the long ball as Donavan Yap made two 3-pointers in 8-0 run. After Wright briefly gave CSUN a 40-39 edge, Yap found the bottom of the net again from 3-point range on the ensuing possession. Yap then finished in transition after a CSUN miss to give the Bulldogs a 44-40 edge.
After shooting 48 percent in the first half, CSUN struggled to a 33.3 field goal percentage in the second period. CSUN only trailed 46-44 with 8:54 left to play but would not make another field goal until the four-minute mark. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs extended to a 51-44 lead on a Jemarl Baker layup in the lane. The Matadors made one final push in the final minutes beginning with a basket from Allen-Eikens. Wright sank a trey to cut the deficit to 53-51 with 3:12 on the clock but Baker responded with a jumper on the other end.
In a pivotal sequence, Dionte Bostick rattled in a 3-pointer to presumably cut the deficit to one, however, he was whistled for stepping out of the bounds. The Bulldogs then responded with a Yap 3-pointer on the next possession to complete a six-point swing. CSUN would not pull any closer than six points in the final moments of the game.Â
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GAME NOTES
CSUN finished shooting 40.4 percent from the field while going 7-of-20 from 3-point range (35.0 percent) and 7-of-11 at the free throw line (63.6 percent). Fresno State shot 44.4 percent for the game. The Bulldogs took 23 free throws, making 17 (73.9 percent). The teams finished tied in the rebounding department, 31-31. Fresno State led in fast break points, 17-6.
De'Sean Allen-Eikens registered his third career double-double in the game and first as a Matador while he went 9-of-13 from the floor. Ethan Igbanugo chipped in with eight points, two assists and two steals. Dionte Bostick recorded six points, five assists and seven rebounds.
For Fresno State, Donavan Yap had a team-high 17 points and made 5-of-7 from 3-point range.
ACCORDING TO COACH TRENT JOHNSON
"We didn't play very well. I thought the first half we didn't do a very good job of executing for whatever reason. We were one dribble too much, searching for shots. And then when you look at their transition baskets in the first half, that was ridiculous. In the second half, we could never get to a point where we played with a sense of urgency and executed. We had some breakdowns defensively where they got a couple threes. Guys were slow in rotations. You can't play on the road and have that many turnovers. You can't play on the road and beat good teams at this level in the Mountain West and not execute."
UP NEXT
CSUN opens a three-game homestand on Saturday against Northern Colorado. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call on ESPN+ and GoMatadors.com/Radio.
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#UniteTheValley
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Fresno State began the game on a 6-0 run until Allen-Eikens drained a 3-pointer at the 17:28 mark of the first period. CSUN would dig a 10-3 hole before responding with an 8-0 run, highlighted by a pair of Ethan Igbanugo 3-pointers. Allen-Eikens shouldered the load offensively for the Matadors in the first half, scoring 14 of his 20 points. During a 7-0 CSUN run, Allen-Eikens scored five of those points to help the Matadors build a 20-15 lead.
CSUN would hold Fresno State without a field goal for four minutes but that trend turned around minutes later. The Bulldogs put together an 8-0 run, capitalizing on a three-plus Matador scoring drought, to take a three-point lead. Isaih Moore's dunk gave the Bulldogs a 26-23 edge with 4:18 left to play before CSUN closed the half on a 7-2 run. Wright drilled a 3-pointer to break a 27-27 tie with less than two minutes on the clock before the Bulldogs made two late free throws to cut the Matador lead to 30-29 at intermission.
The Matadors completed an 8-0 spurt early in the second half to build a 38-31 lead. However, in a near-five minute scoring drought, the Matadors missed four consecutive shots and committed two turnovers. On the flip side, the Bulldogs turned to the long ball as Donavan Yap made two 3-pointers in 8-0 run. After Wright briefly gave CSUN a 40-39 edge, Yap found the bottom of the net again from 3-point range on the ensuing possession. Yap then finished in transition after a CSUN miss to give the Bulldogs a 44-40 edge.
After shooting 48 percent in the first half, CSUN struggled to a 33.3 field goal percentage in the second period. CSUN only trailed 46-44 with 8:54 left to play but would not make another field goal until the four-minute mark. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs extended to a 51-44 lead on a Jemarl Baker layup in the lane. The Matadors made one final push in the final minutes beginning with a basket from Allen-Eikens. Wright sank a trey to cut the deficit to 53-51 with 3:12 on the clock but Baker responded with a jumper on the other end.
In a pivotal sequence, Dionte Bostick rattled in a 3-pointer to presumably cut the deficit to one, however, he was whistled for stepping out of the bounds. The Bulldogs then responded with a Yap 3-pointer on the next possession to complete a six-point swing. CSUN would not pull any closer than six points in the final moments of the game.Â
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GAME NOTES
CSUN finished shooting 40.4 percent from the field while going 7-of-20 from 3-point range (35.0 percent) and 7-of-11 at the free throw line (63.6 percent). Fresno State shot 44.4 percent for the game. The Bulldogs took 23 free throws, making 17 (73.9 percent). The teams finished tied in the rebounding department, 31-31. Fresno State led in fast break points, 17-6.
De'Sean Allen-Eikens registered his third career double-double in the game and first as a Matador while he went 9-of-13 from the floor. Ethan Igbanugo chipped in with eight points, two assists and two steals. Dionte Bostick recorded six points, five assists and seven rebounds.
For Fresno State, Donavan Yap had a team-high 17 points and made 5-of-7 from 3-point range.
ACCORDING TO COACH TRENT JOHNSON
"We didn't play very well. I thought the first half we didn't do a very good job of executing for whatever reason. We were one dribble too much, searching for shots. And then when you look at their transition baskets in the first half, that was ridiculous. In the second half, we could never get to a point where we played with a sense of urgency and executed. We had some breakdowns defensively where they got a couple threes. Guys were slow in rotations. You can't play on the road and have that many turnovers. You can't play on the road and beat good teams at this level in the Mountain West and not execute."
UP NEXT
CSUN opens a three-game homestand on Saturday against Northern Colorado. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call on ESPN+ and GoMatadors.com/Radio.
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#UniteTheValley
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Team Stats
CSUN
Fresno
FG%
.404
.444
3FG%
.350
.308
FT%
.636
.739
RB
31
31
TO
15
13
STL
8
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
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