Saturday, January 14
Northridge, Calif.
1:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
3-14,0-6Big West
57
vs
71
UC Irvine
12-5,5-0Big West
1
2
F
UC Irvine
32
39
71
CSUN
27
30
57
Photo by: Cassandra Elena Yra
Matadors Drop 71-57 Decision to UC Irvine
1/14/2023 3:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball dropped a 71-57 decision to Big West-leading UC Irvine on Saturday afternoon at Premier America Credit Union Arena. De'Sean Allen-Eikens scored 14 points and added seven rebounds while Atin Wright posted 14 points and four assists. Dearon Tucker just missed a double-double, registering 12 points and nine rebounds. The Matadors trailed by single digits with five minutes to play but could not make up the gap down the stretch.
CSUN committed two turnovers to start the game while UCI began the game with an 8-0 run. The Matadors would battle back with a 7-1 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Ethan Igbanugo to trim the deficit to 9-7. After a traditional 3-point play from Wright, Igabnugo scored again from mid-range to pull CSUN to within one. The Matadors eventually took their first lead of the game at the 7:22 mark of the first half when Tucker scored on a jumper for a 19-18 advantage.
The lead though lasted until UCI's next possession as DJ Davis drained a 3-pointer. Dawson Baker would score the next five in a row for an 8-0 UCI run that gave the visitors a seven-point edge. The Matadors trailed by as many as eight in the first half but finished the half with a late three from Wright to trim the deficit to 32-27 at intermission.
CSUN chipped away at the lead to start the second half, eventually pulling to within three points on a trey from Wright (38-35). However, after being held to under 40 percent shooting in the first half, UCI's offense exploded in the second half. An 11-2 UCI run quickly pushed the lead to 12 points at 49-37. Wright would slow the run with a three but the Anteaters scored the next six in a row to extend to a 15-point lead (55-40).
UCI would shoot 68.0 percent in the second half as it built as big a lead as 16 points with under seven minutes to play. The Matadors though did not give up down the stretch. Allen-Eikens knocked down a 3-pointer then Dionte Bostick picked up a steal and layup on the other end to pull the Matadors to within 11. After CSUN forced a UCI turnover, Allen-Eikens brought the fans to their feet with a dunk to bring CSUN closer at 59-50 with 5:35 left to play.
CSUN had a chance to cut the lead to six but Wright was off the mark with a 3-pointer. Moments later, the Anteaters countered with another 6-0 run that made it a 65-50 game. CSUN trimmed the deficit to as little as 13 in the closing minutes but could not pull any closer.
GAME NOTES
CSUN (3-14, 0-6 Big West) shot 34.8 percent for the game and 20-of-27 at the free throw line (74.1 percent). UC Irvine (12-5, 5-0 Big West) finished with a 52.8 field goal percentage while hitting 10-of-15 free throws (66.7 percent). Both teams shot 5-of-16 from the 3-point arc (31.3 percent) and finished with 32 rebounds apiece. The Anteaters held a 19-4 edge in points off turnovers and 40-18 advantage in points in the paint.
De'Sean Allen-Eikens made 7-of-10 at the free throw line while he added four assists and two blocks to his stat line. Dearon Tucker's nine rebounds were a career high. Dionte Bostick chipped in with seven points and three assists in 36 minutes.
For UCI, Dawson Baker had a team-high 11 points.
ACCORDING TO COACH TRENT JOHNSON
"They're probably as deep a team in this league. Their perimeter players are very good basketball players. They play to their strengths. I thought for the most part in the first half, they did an extremely good job of making us work for everything. There was a period there or two where we had some breakdowns offensively that hurt us. They capitalized on it. I'm talking about the [full court press] in terms of guys not getting to spots and guys being really tentative about making a play. The positive is we improved our rebounding versus a good team. I thought we found a way to get some good things done at the free throw line. And for the most part, we did what we're capable of doing."
"I liked our effort but when you play good teams like this, you have to execute defensively and offensively. You have to play to their level of toughness from start to finish."
UP NEXT
CSUN makes the trip to Hawai'i for a Monday night matchup at 7 p.m. PT./5 p.m. HT on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan has the call in an audio broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#UniteTheValley
Â
CSUN committed two turnovers to start the game while UCI began the game with an 8-0 run. The Matadors would battle back with a 7-1 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Ethan Igbanugo to trim the deficit to 9-7. After a traditional 3-point play from Wright, Igabnugo scored again from mid-range to pull CSUN to within one. The Matadors eventually took their first lead of the game at the 7:22 mark of the first half when Tucker scored on a jumper for a 19-18 advantage.
The lead though lasted until UCI's next possession as DJ Davis drained a 3-pointer. Dawson Baker would score the next five in a row for an 8-0 UCI run that gave the visitors a seven-point edge. The Matadors trailed by as many as eight in the first half but finished the half with a late three from Wright to trim the deficit to 32-27 at intermission.
CSUN chipped away at the lead to start the second half, eventually pulling to within three points on a trey from Wright (38-35). However, after being held to under 40 percent shooting in the first half, UCI's offense exploded in the second half. An 11-2 UCI run quickly pushed the lead to 12 points at 49-37. Wright would slow the run with a three but the Anteaters scored the next six in a row to extend to a 15-point lead (55-40).
UCI would shoot 68.0 percent in the second half as it built as big a lead as 16 points with under seven minutes to play. The Matadors though did not give up down the stretch. Allen-Eikens knocked down a 3-pointer then Dionte Bostick picked up a steal and layup on the other end to pull the Matadors to within 11. After CSUN forced a UCI turnover, Allen-Eikens brought the fans to their feet with a dunk to bring CSUN closer at 59-50 with 5:35 left to play.
CSUN had a chance to cut the lead to six but Wright was off the mark with a 3-pointer. Moments later, the Anteaters countered with another 6-0 run that made it a 65-50 game. CSUN trimmed the deficit to as little as 13 in the closing minutes but could not pull any closer.
GAME NOTES
CSUN (3-14, 0-6 Big West) shot 34.8 percent for the game and 20-of-27 at the free throw line (74.1 percent). UC Irvine (12-5, 5-0 Big West) finished with a 52.8 field goal percentage while hitting 10-of-15 free throws (66.7 percent). Both teams shot 5-of-16 from the 3-point arc (31.3 percent) and finished with 32 rebounds apiece. The Anteaters held a 19-4 edge in points off turnovers and 40-18 advantage in points in the paint.
De'Sean Allen-Eikens made 7-of-10 at the free throw line while he added four assists and two blocks to his stat line. Dearon Tucker's nine rebounds were a career high. Dionte Bostick chipped in with seven points and three assists in 36 minutes.
For UCI, Dawson Baker had a team-high 11 points.
ACCORDING TO COACH TRENT JOHNSON
"They're probably as deep a team in this league. Their perimeter players are very good basketball players. They play to their strengths. I thought for the most part in the first half, they did an extremely good job of making us work for everything. There was a period there or two where we had some breakdowns offensively that hurt us. They capitalized on it. I'm talking about the [full court press] in terms of guys not getting to spots and guys being really tentative about making a play. The positive is we improved our rebounding versus a good team. I thought we found a way to get some good things done at the free throw line. And for the most part, we did what we're capable of doing."
"I liked our effort but when you play good teams like this, you have to execute defensively and offensively. You have to play to their level of toughness from start to finish."
UP NEXT
CSUN makes the trip to Hawai'i for a Monday night matchup at 7 p.m. PT./5 p.m. HT on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan has the call in an audio broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#UniteTheValley
Â
Team Stats
Irvine
CSUN
FG%
.528
.348
3FG%
.313
.313
FT%
.667
.741
RB
32
32
TO
9
13
STL
10
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballTexas State vs. Eastern Washington
Saturday, November 20
Texas State vs. Dixie State
Friday, November 19
A Conversation With Mark Gottfried
Friday, June 19
Preseason chat with Terrell Gomez
Thursday, October 03