CSUN Visits Chicago State Before Hosting Life Pacific in Home Opener

Tuesday, November 14

Chicago, Ill.

5:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

Chicago State

Photo by: Karen Ambrose Hickey / isiphotos.com

CSUN Visits Chicago State Before Hosting Life Pacific in Home Opener

11/13/2023 9:10:00 AM | Men's Basketball

FULL GAME NOTES

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball (1-1) completes its three-game road trip to begin the season before heading back Northridge for its home opener this week. The Matadors visit Chicago State on Tuesday evening at 5 p.m. PT then open their home schedule with Life Pacific on Friday at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.

HOW TO FOLLOW
All 16 CSUN home games this season will be broadcast on ESPN+ while each home and away game will have free audio broadcasts available to stream at GoMatadors.com/Radio or on the Varsity Network App. For road games, related links to video stream and live stats will be posted on the men's basketball schedule page at GoMatadors.com. Fans are also encouraged to check the CSUN Men's Basketball team's official Twitter feed @CSUNMBB for updates of games in progress and news and notes. For the 11th-straight season, CSUN's broadcasting duo of Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister will call each Matador game in 2023-24.

ABOUT LAST WEEK
CSUN opened the 2023-24 season last week, going 1-1 in a pair of nail biters. The Matadors nearly came away with an upset on opening night, taking Stanford down to the wire before falling 88-79. CSUN would bounce back with a come-from-behind 76-73 win at Idaho on Thursday night, claiming the first victory under head coach Andy Newman.

The Matadors led for most of the first half at Stanford and would take a four-point lead late on a Keonte Jones three-point play. Stanford though ended the game on a 13-0 run over the final three minutes. De'Sean Allen-Eikens tied a career high in scoring with 22 points while Dearon Tucker had 12 points and Jasman Sangha chipped in with 11 points in his CSUN debut.

CSUN would surge late in its win over Idaho, erasing a late seven-point lead. Allen-Eikens scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half including a timely three to even the game. Dionte Bostick added 12 points as well as two free throws with a minute to play to give CSUN the lead for good. Jones recorded his first career double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds while Sangha scored 12 points. CSUN's win was the program's first non-conference road win since Nov. 28, 2021.

DE'SEAN'S HOT START
Graduate De'Sean Allen-Eikens has been on a tear to start the season, averaging 20.5 points per game. He has shot 53.6 percent from the floor while going 3-for-5 from 3-point range. Allen-Eikens has also been a force on the glass, averaging a team-high 7.0 per game to go with 2.0 steals per game. His hot start has inched him closer to reaching 1,000 career points as the 6-6 forward now stands at 956. In his second season at CSUN, Allen-Eikens began his career at North Dakota where he played three seasons and he also played one year at New Orleans.

NEW FACES CONTRIBUTE IMMEDIATELY
Six Matadors have already made their debut with the team this season with two scoring in double figures through two games. Jasman Sangha has come off the bench in both of CSUN games and produced back-to-back double-digit games, averaging 11.5 points on 73.3 percent shooting. Keonte Jones, who had a double-double at Idaho, has averaged 10.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game thus far. Jared Barnett has started both games at point guard and posted back-to-back six-assist games while Mahmoud Fofana has started twice at small forward and averaged 4.5 points and 3.5 rebounds. Off the bench, freshman Bryan Ndjonga has immediately been a difference maker, averaging 6.5 points in his first two college games.

SCOUTING TO CHICAGO STATE
The Cougars (0-2) dropped games to Bowling Green (70-41) and Mercer (66-61) to begin the season. Chicago State went 11-20 last season in its first season as a Division I independent. Last season, CSU was a perfect 8-0 at home on the year. The Cougars have returned their top two scorers from a season ago in Wesley Cardet (16.6 PPG in 2022-23) and Jahsean Corbett (14.2 PPG in 2022-23). Cardet is averaging 14.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while Corbett is totaling 12.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Head coach Gerald Gillion is in his third season with the program.

SERIES HISTORY: CSUN holds a 2-1 edge over Chicago State in the all-time series but the teams have not played since Jan. 22, 2008. The Cougars won the last meeting by a 83-75 score at home. CSUN previously had home wins in 2007 (96-85) and in 1978 (64-56).

SCOUTING TO LIFE PACIFIC
Playing out of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the Warriors (1-1) opened the season with a 72-57 win over Stanton before dropping a home game with Benedictine Mesa 88-78 last week. Last season, the Warriors finished 8-18, dropping their final 14 games of the year. Jordan Jones leads the team in scoring (16.0 PPG) and rebounding (8.0 RPG) while Austin Cook, the team's top returning scorer, is scoring 13.5 points per game. Prior to taking on CSUN, Life Pacific has a busy week of action with home games set with West Coast Baptist (Monday) and Whittier (Tuesday). Head coach Tim Cook is in his eight season with the team.

SERIES HISTORY: CSUN and Life Pacific have played just once on Nov. 10, 2017 with the Matadors posting a 76-50 victory. Friday's game between the two teams will be considered an exhibition for Life Pacific.

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