Matadors Visit Hawai'i on Monday Night

FULL GAME NOTES

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball opens a three-game week on Monday night at Hawai'i. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. PT/5 p.m. HT on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan has the call at GoMatadors.com/Radio.

LAST TIME OUT
CSUN dropped a pair of games last week at home to fall to 3-14 overall and 0-6 in Big West play. The Matadors were unable to hold off a late charge from UC Davis on Wednesday in a 62-54 defeat. The team wrapped up the week with a 71-57 loss to league-leading UC Irvine on Saturday afternoon.

The Matadors would hold the Aggies well below their season scoring average on Thursday. Dionte Bostick led the way offensively with 18 points to go with four assists while Ethan Igbanugo chipped in with nine points off the bench. CSUN led by eight points near the midway point of the second half but UC Davis would rally back with a 10-0 run to take the lead. The Aggies closed the game on a 10-3 run to pick up the win.

CSUN held the top scoring team in The Big West in UC Irvine to 39 percent shooting in the first half. However, UCI's offense exploded in the second half as the Anteaters shot 68 percent over the last 20 minutes. UCI extended a three-point lead early in the second half to 16 points with 6:56 left to play. CSUN went on a 7-0 run to pull to within nine with five minutes to play but could not pull any closer the rest of the way. Atin Wright and De'Sean Allen-Eikens had 14 points apiece to lead CSUN while Dearon Tucker had 12 points and a career-high nine rebounds.

MATADOR HEADLINES
After wrapping up a short stay in Hawai'i, the Matadors resume action on Thursday night for a road clash at UC Santa Barbara. The week will wrap up on Saturday evening with a return matchup with Cal State Fullerton at Premier America Credit Union Arena.

Heading into action this week, Atin Wright is ranked 10th in The Big West in scoring average (14.2) while he is sixth in steals per game (1.4) and eighth in 3-point field goals made per game (1.8). Second in the league in free throw percentage (90.5), Wright is 19th in Division I basketball in the category.

Dionte Bostick is ranked 11th in The Big West in assists per game (2.7) and 13th in points per game (13.1). De'Sean Allen-Eikens is 14th in the conference in rebounding (5.6) to go with his 10.2 points per game.

As a team, the Matadors are third in the league in opponent 3-point percentage (31.4) while they are fifth in opponent field goal percentage (41.5) and sixth in scoring defense (67.3). CSUN tops the conference in least turnovers per game (11.7).

SERIES HISTORY
Hawai'i leads CSUN 20-8 in the all-time series. Hawai'i swept the Matadors last season including defeating CSUN 72-65 in Honolulu. Prior to last season's defeat in Hawai'i, CSUN had won two of the prior three meetings between the two teams at SimiliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. The Matadors' last win in the series took place at CSUN in an 88-80 win in overtime on Feb. 20, 2021.

SCOUTING HAWAI'I
The Rainbow Warriors improved to 13-4 overall and 4-1 in Big West play with a 79-70 win over Long Beach State on Saturday night at home. The team has won nine of 11 games at home this season including going 3-0 in league action. Prior to the season, Hawai'i was picked to finish second in the conference. Head coach Eran Ganot is in his eighth season leading the Bows.

Noel Coleman is eighth in The Big West in scoring average (14.5) to go with his 2.2 assists per game. Other double-digit scorers on the team include Kamaka Hepa (10.9) and Bernardo da Silva (10.3). Hepa and da Silva are fourth (7.1) and fifth (7.0), respectively, in rebounding average in the conference. As a team, Hawai'i is first in the league in blocks per game (4.2) and second in scoring defense (60.8).

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Matadors Visit Hawai'i on Monday Night

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Players Mentioned

De'Sean Allen-Eikens

Dionte Bostick

Ethan Igbanugo

Dearon Tucker

Atin Wright