Tough Start Slows Down CSUN at UC Riverside

RIVERSIDE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball (7-19, 3-10 Big West) suffered a 79-57 defeat at UC Riverside (15-9, 8-4 Big West) on Thursday at the SRC Arena. Onyi Eyisi finished with 14 points and five rebounds while Atin Wright scored 14 points of his own and Elijah Hardy chipped in with nine points and four assists.

The Highlanders shot 53.4 percent for the game while the Matadors finished with a 40.4 field goal percentage. From 3-point range, CSUN would go 3-of-12 (25.0 percent) compared to UCR, which made 10-of-26 (38.5 percent). The Matadors did earn 21 trips to the free throw line, making 16 (76.2 percent) while the Highlanders converted on 7-of-10 attempts (70.0 percent). On the glass, the Highlanders held a 35-24 advantage. CSUN was also outscored 38-18 in points in the paint.

GAME BREAKDOWN
The Highlanders jumped on the Matadors at the outset of the game, scoring the first nine points before Hardy put the Matadors on the scoreboard at the 17:02 mark. Moments later, the Highlanders went on an 8-0 run, capped by a Daniel Mading 3-pointer that stretched the lead to 17-2. UC Riverside shot 67 percent in the first half and out-rebounded CSUN 17-7 as the Highlanders led by double-digits for nearly the entire period. UCR made 8-of-9 attempts during one stretch and built a 37-19 lead with 6:56 left in the first half.

The combination of Wright and Eyisi helped shoulder the load offensively for the Matadors in the first half, scoring a combined 16 points. Wright would make three-straight CSUN baskets during one stretch. Eyisi made 3-of-4 attempts in the period as his layup with 2:43 on the clock brought CSUN to within 41-25. The Highlanders though scored six of the final eight points of the first half including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Dragan Elkaz.

The Matadors came up empty on their first four offensive trips to start the second half before recording their first field goal on a Hardy 3-pointer at the 16:22 mark. Zyon Pullin scored the next four points though to give UCR a 55-32 lead. Darius Beane scored back-to-back baskets near the 12-minute mark of the half but the Highlanders countered with consecutive 3-pointers from Elkaz and Cameron Flynn to extend to a 28-point lead.

UCR led by as many as 30 points in the second half but the Matadors kept fighting until the final minute of play. The Matadors received energy from Marcel Stevens and Arman Pezeshkian on both ends of the floor in the final minutes. Pezeshkian scored his first career points with the Matadors at the free throw line with two minutes left to play. The tandem of Stevens and Pezeshkian combined to score the Matadors' final six points of the game.

GAME NOTES
Wright has now scored in double figures in eight-straight games and 21 of 25 games overall this season. Eyisi finished 5-of-8 from the field as well as 4-of-4 at the free throw line. Pezeshkian finished with three points, all of which scored at the free throw line, in three minutes of action. Stevens matched his career-high of six points he scored in last Saturday's game against Cal State Fullerton.

For UC Riverside, Elkaz had a game-high 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point range while Callum McRae had 14 points and 13 rebounds.

ACCORDING TO COACH TRENT JOHNSON
"I don't want to take anything away from what Riverside did. Basically, what happened at shootaround was what happened at the start of the game. It had everything to do with us. It comes to a point in time where individually, guys have to take it upon themselves when they are playing, they've got to compete harder and take it personally."

UP NEXT
CSUN stays on the road for a Saturday meeting with UC Davis at 5 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ while Alan Zinsmeister has the call on GoMatadors.com/Radio beginning at 4:50 p.m.

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Team Stats

Atin Wright

Onyi Eyisi

Elijah Hardy

Marcel Stevens

Players Mentioned

Darius Beane

Onyi Eyisi

Elijah Hardy

Arman Pezeshkian

Marcel Stevens

Atin Wright