Tuesday, March 8
Henderson, Nev.
6:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
vs
CSU Bakersfield
Photo by: Will Navarro
Matadors Face CSU Bakersfield in First Round of Big West Championship
3/7/2022 12:05:00 AM | Men's Basketball
FULL GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball (7-22) opens play at the 2022 Hercules Tires Big West Championships presented by Hawaiian Islands on Tuesday when the Matadors face CSU Bakersfield 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 at GoMatadors.com/Radio from Henderson, Nev.
The Matadors are making their 16th appearance in the Big West Tournament this week. CSUN has lost six-straight tournament games with the program's last win coming in the semifinals of the 2014 tournament against Long Beach State. Last season, the Matadors would fall to Long Beach State in another No. 8 versus No. 9 seed matchup with the Beach prevailing 85-63. CSUN last won the conference tournament in 2009.
Two first-round games take place on Tuesday with the winners of those two games advancing to the quarterfinal round on Thursday. Should the Matadors win, they would face No. 1 seeded Long Beach State in quarterfinal action at noon. The Big West semifinals will take place Friday while the championship game is set for Saturday.
CSUN and CSU Bakersfield have played 48 games all-time with each team winning 24 time in the series. The Matadors won the teams' only other meeting this season on Feb. 12 in Bakersfield by a 71-65 margin. Five Matadors scored in double figures in that win with Atin Wright leading the way with 22 points. While the teams have never faced one another in Big West Conference Tournament history, CSUN and CSUB met in the postseason once before as Division II members in 1988. The Roadrunners would defeat the Matadors in the CCAA Tournament in 1988, 57-56.
The Matadors are coming off an 84-62 Senior Night loss to Hawai'i this past Saturday. CSUN stayed with Hawai'i for nearly the entire game until a pivotal 24-3 run near the midway mark of the second half turned the tide of the contest. Sophomore guard Atin Wright tied a career-high with 28 points including pouring in 18 in the second half. Elijah Hardy scored nine points while Christian Gray grabbed nine rebounds to go with five points.
Prior to the Saturday's game, the Matadors honored three seniors for their contributions to the CSUN Men's Basketball program, which included Gray, Miles Brookins and Darius Brown II. A graduate transfer, Gray has played in 28 games this season, starting 19 times and averaging 5.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Both Brookins and Brown have missed most of the season due to injury. Brookins was limited to three games this season where he averaged 5.7 points per game at center. Brown, an All-Big West Second Team selection in 2021, saw action in seven games this season and averaged 6.4 points.
Wright's 28 points scored against Hawai'i was his fifth 20-point game this season and his third 28-point effort as well. After averaging 4.7 points as a freshman last season, Wright has averaged 14.8 points per game as he has scored in double figures in 24 of 28 games. He has also made a team-high 52 3-point field goals and shot 82.7 percent from the free throw line (91-of-110).
Heading into the conference tournament, Wright is seventh in the Big West in scoring while he is third in minutes per game (33.9), eighth in free throw percentage and ninth in steals per game (1.2). Hardy is third in the conference in steals per game (1.6), 10th in assists per game (2.8) and 14th in points per game (12.0). Fidelis Okereke ranks fourth in the Big West in blocks per game (0.9) and sixth in offensive rebounds per game (2.3). As a team, CSUN is the Big West leader in steals per game (7.4)
A Closer Look at CSU Bakersfield
CSUB finished the regular season with a 7-18 overall record and 2-12 mark in Big West play. The 'Runners have dropped three-straight games, losing a pair of tight decisions to UC San Diego (72-70) and UC Irvine (66-61) this past week. Currently in its second season in the Big West, CSU Bakersfield is seeking its first-ever conference win on Tuesday. Head coach Rod Barnes is completing his 11th season at the helm of CSUB this year.
Justin McCall leads the squad in scoring at 11.1 points per game to go with his 4.5 rebounds per game. McCall is ninth in the Big West in field goal percentage (49.5). Kaleb Higgins is second on the team in points per game (9.5) while Justin Edler-Davis is third (8.9). Edler-Davis is also eighth in the conference in rebounds per game at 6.4. As a team, CSUB has allowed 67.2 points per game to opponents.
#UniteTheValley
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NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball (7-22) opens play at the 2022 Hercules Tires Big West Championships presented by Hawaiian Islands on Tuesday when the Matadors face CSU Bakersfield 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 at GoMatadors.com/Radio from Henderson, Nev.
The Matadors are making their 16th appearance in the Big West Tournament this week. CSUN has lost six-straight tournament games with the program's last win coming in the semifinals of the 2014 tournament against Long Beach State. Last season, the Matadors would fall to Long Beach State in another No. 8 versus No. 9 seed matchup with the Beach prevailing 85-63. CSUN last won the conference tournament in 2009.
Two first-round games take place on Tuesday with the winners of those two games advancing to the quarterfinal round on Thursday. Should the Matadors win, they would face No. 1 seeded Long Beach State in quarterfinal action at noon. The Big West semifinals will take place Friday while the championship game is set for Saturday.
CSUN and CSU Bakersfield have played 48 games all-time with each team winning 24 time in the series. The Matadors won the teams' only other meeting this season on Feb. 12 in Bakersfield by a 71-65 margin. Five Matadors scored in double figures in that win with Atin Wright leading the way with 22 points. While the teams have never faced one another in Big West Conference Tournament history, CSUN and CSUB met in the postseason once before as Division II members in 1988. The Roadrunners would defeat the Matadors in the CCAA Tournament in 1988, 57-56.
The Matadors are coming off an 84-62 Senior Night loss to Hawai'i this past Saturday. CSUN stayed with Hawai'i for nearly the entire game until a pivotal 24-3 run near the midway mark of the second half turned the tide of the contest. Sophomore guard Atin Wright tied a career-high with 28 points including pouring in 18 in the second half. Elijah Hardy scored nine points while Christian Gray grabbed nine rebounds to go with five points.
Prior to the Saturday's game, the Matadors honored three seniors for their contributions to the CSUN Men's Basketball program, which included Gray, Miles Brookins and Darius Brown II. A graduate transfer, Gray has played in 28 games this season, starting 19 times and averaging 5.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Both Brookins and Brown have missed most of the season due to injury. Brookins was limited to three games this season where he averaged 5.7 points per game at center. Brown, an All-Big West Second Team selection in 2021, saw action in seven games this season and averaged 6.4 points.
Wright's 28 points scored against Hawai'i was his fifth 20-point game this season and his third 28-point effort as well. After averaging 4.7 points as a freshman last season, Wright has averaged 14.8 points per game as he has scored in double figures in 24 of 28 games. He has also made a team-high 52 3-point field goals and shot 82.7 percent from the free throw line (91-of-110).
Heading into the conference tournament, Wright is seventh in the Big West in scoring while he is third in minutes per game (33.9), eighth in free throw percentage and ninth in steals per game (1.2). Hardy is third in the conference in steals per game (1.6), 10th in assists per game (2.8) and 14th in points per game (12.0). Fidelis Okereke ranks fourth in the Big West in blocks per game (0.9) and sixth in offensive rebounds per game (2.3). As a team, CSUN is the Big West leader in steals per game (7.4)
A Closer Look at CSU Bakersfield
CSUB finished the regular season with a 7-18 overall record and 2-12 mark in Big West play. The 'Runners have dropped three-straight games, losing a pair of tight decisions to UC San Diego (72-70) and UC Irvine (66-61) this past week. Currently in its second season in the Big West, CSU Bakersfield is seeking its first-ever conference win on Tuesday. Head coach Rod Barnes is completing his 11th season at the helm of CSUB this year.
Justin McCall leads the squad in scoring at 11.1 points per game to go with his 4.5 rebounds per game. McCall is ninth in the Big West in field goal percentage (49.5). Kaleb Higgins is second on the team in points per game (9.5) while Justin Edler-Davis is third (8.9). Edler-Davis is also eighth in the conference in rebounds per game at 6.4. As a team, CSUB has allowed 67.2 points per game to opponents.
#UniteTheValley
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