Saturday, March 5
Northridge, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
7-22,3-13Big We
62
vs
84
Hawai'i
16-10,10-5Big W
1
2
F
Hawaii
38
46
84
CSUN
33
29
62
Team Stats
HAWAII
CSUN
FG%
.472
.412
3FG%
.304
.364
FT%
.750
.632
RB
35
30
TO
7
14
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Pts
28
FGM
9
3FGM
5
FTM
5
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: John McElfresh
Matadors Drop Senior Night Matchup with Hawai'i
3/5/2022 10:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball (7-22, 3-13 Big West) dropped an 84-62 decision to Hawai'i (16-10, 10-5 Big West) in the regular season finale on Senior Night Saturday at The Matadome. Atin Wright tied a career-high in points with 28 on 9-of-18 shooting to go with two steals. Elijah Hardy added nine points while Christian Gray pulled down nine rebounds in his final home game at CSUN. The Matadors kept pace with Hawai'i until nearly the midway mark of the second half before a Rainbow Warrior 24-3 run turned the tide of the contest.
Hawai'i finished shooting 47.2 percent from the field while the Matadors shot 41.2 percent for the night. From 3-point range, CSUN connected on 8-of-22 attempts (36.4 percent) compared to the Rainbow Warriors who made 7-of-23 (30.4 percent). Hawai'i earned 36 total free throws in the contest, making 27 (75.0 percent) while CSUN hit 12-of-19 (63.2 percent) at the charity stripe. On the glass, Hawai'i out-rebounded CSUN 35-30.
The teams traded the lead eight times in a competitive back-and-forth first half. Wright opened the scoring for CSUN with a 3-pointer before scoring again on the ensuing possession to put his team ahead by two. CSUN made four of eight shots to start the game to jump out ahead 13-9 at the 15-minute mark. Hawai'i responded with six unanswered points to take the lead before Hardy drilled a jumper to even the game. Moments later, Kailen Rains and Marcel Stevens knocked down consecutive 3-pointers to push CSUN ahead 21-20 with 10:13 left in the first half.
After Fidelis Okereke put the Matadors on top 25-22, forcing a Hawai'i timeout, the Rainbow Warriors responded with a 9-0 run to go ahead 31-25. CSUN though continued to stay within striking distance in the closing minutes of the half. Okereke brought the Matadors closer at 34-31 on a drive inside but Hawai'i would extend to a seven-point lead on a layup from Amoro Lado with 35 seconds to play. Wright closed the half with a late basket to cut the Hawai'i lead to 38-33 at intermission.
Out of halftime, Wright knocked down a 3-pointer on CSUN's first possession, cutting the deficit to two. After Jerome Desrosiers drained a 3-pointer, CSUN answered with four-straight points, capped by a trey from Hardy. Wright would later tie the game once more at the 16:23 mark on a 3-pointer but Hawai'i came back with a three-point play from Bernardo da Silva.
The Matadors received a jumper from Hardy to pull to within one with 13:53 left to play, however, the basket was CSUN's last made field goal for a four-minute stretch. Hawai'i went on an 8-1 run to quickly extend to a 56-48 lead before Wright ended the drought with a basket. In another key stretch, the Matadors went scoreless again after the Wright field goal for another four minutes while the Rainbow Warriors completed a 16-0 run to stake to a 72-50 advantage with 5:26 on the clock. Wright would score the Matadors' final 10 points but Hawai'i cruised to a double-digit win in the closing minutes.
GAME NOTES
The Matadors honored graduate students Gray and Miles Brookins along with senior Darius Brown II prior to Saturday's Senior Night game for their contributions to the CSUN program. Gray added five points and three assists to his game-high nine rebounds.
Wright made 5-of-10 from 3-point range and 5-of-6 from the free throw line for CSUN. He previously scored 28 points this season against Portland State on Dec. 18 and versus Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 19. The trio of Okereke, Onyi Eyisi and Miles James all fouled out in the game.
For Hawai'i, Junior Madut had a team-high 18 points while Kamaka Hepa added 15 points and seven rebounds.
UP NEXT
The Matadors now set their sights on the 2022 Big West Men's Basketball Championships in Henderson, Nev. beginning March 8. Eighth-seeded CSUN will face ninth-seeded CSU Bakersfield in an opening round game on Tuesday at 6 p.m. inside the Dollar Loan Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ while Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call on GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#UniteTheValley
Â
Hawai'i finished shooting 47.2 percent from the field while the Matadors shot 41.2 percent for the night. From 3-point range, CSUN connected on 8-of-22 attempts (36.4 percent) compared to the Rainbow Warriors who made 7-of-23 (30.4 percent). Hawai'i earned 36 total free throws in the contest, making 27 (75.0 percent) while CSUN hit 12-of-19 (63.2 percent) at the charity stripe. On the glass, Hawai'i out-rebounded CSUN 35-30.
The teams traded the lead eight times in a competitive back-and-forth first half. Wright opened the scoring for CSUN with a 3-pointer before scoring again on the ensuing possession to put his team ahead by two. CSUN made four of eight shots to start the game to jump out ahead 13-9 at the 15-minute mark. Hawai'i responded with six unanswered points to take the lead before Hardy drilled a jumper to even the game. Moments later, Kailen Rains and Marcel Stevens knocked down consecutive 3-pointers to push CSUN ahead 21-20 with 10:13 left in the first half.
After Fidelis Okereke put the Matadors on top 25-22, forcing a Hawai'i timeout, the Rainbow Warriors responded with a 9-0 run to go ahead 31-25. CSUN though continued to stay within striking distance in the closing minutes of the half. Okereke brought the Matadors closer at 34-31 on a drive inside but Hawai'i would extend to a seven-point lead on a layup from Amoro Lado with 35 seconds to play. Wright closed the half with a late basket to cut the Hawai'i lead to 38-33 at intermission.
Out of halftime, Wright knocked down a 3-pointer on CSUN's first possession, cutting the deficit to two. After Jerome Desrosiers drained a 3-pointer, CSUN answered with four-straight points, capped by a trey from Hardy. Wright would later tie the game once more at the 16:23 mark on a 3-pointer but Hawai'i came back with a three-point play from Bernardo da Silva.
The Matadors received a jumper from Hardy to pull to within one with 13:53 left to play, however, the basket was CSUN's last made field goal for a four-minute stretch. Hawai'i went on an 8-1 run to quickly extend to a 56-48 lead before Wright ended the drought with a basket. In another key stretch, the Matadors went scoreless again after the Wright field goal for another four minutes while the Rainbow Warriors completed a 16-0 run to stake to a 72-50 advantage with 5:26 on the clock. Wright would score the Matadors' final 10 points but Hawai'i cruised to a double-digit win in the closing minutes.
GAME NOTES
The Matadors honored graduate students Gray and Miles Brookins along with senior Darius Brown II prior to Saturday's Senior Night game for their contributions to the CSUN program. Gray added five points and three assists to his game-high nine rebounds.
Wright made 5-of-10 from 3-point range and 5-of-6 from the free throw line for CSUN. He previously scored 28 points this season against Portland State on Dec. 18 and versus Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 19. The trio of Okereke, Onyi Eyisi and Miles James all fouled out in the game.
For Hawai'i, Junior Madut had a team-high 18 points while Kamaka Hepa added 15 points and seven rebounds.
UP NEXT
The Matadors now set their sights on the 2022 Big West Men's Basketball Championships in Henderson, Nev. beginning March 8. Eighth-seeded CSUN will face ninth-seeded CSU Bakersfield in an opening round game on Tuesday at 6 p.m. inside the Dollar Loan Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ while Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call on GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#UniteTheValley
Â
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