CSUN Squares Off with Utah Tech Monday Night

FULL GAME NOTES

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball completes a quick two-game homestand with a Monday night meeting with Utah Tech. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. inside Premier America Credit Union Arena.

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.

CSUN GETS BACK ON WINNING TRACK
The Matadors got back in the win column on Thursday night with a 92-54 victory over Bethesda University at home. The win improved CSUN's overall record to 6-3 on the season while the Matadors snapped a two-game skid to Bethesda in the all-time season series. CSUN would trail 21-16 with eight minutes left in the first half before putting together a 14-0 run to take control. The Matadors broke open a 13-point halftime lead with a 16-4 run to start the second half and never looked back. Keonte Jones scored a season-high 22 points while Dearon Tucker posted his first career double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds and Jared Barnett had a career-high 15 points.

STARTING THINGS OFF WELL
CSUN holds a 6-3 record through nine games, marking the first time the team has a winning record at this stage of the season since the 2012-13 season. That Matador squad would begin the season with a 9-3 record. Already this season, CSUN set a new Division I record by winning three consecutive road non-conference games. Overall, CSUN had not won three-straight road games in non-conference since the 1983-84 campaign when the program played at the Division II level.

RETURNERS LEADING THE WAY
Graduate De'Sean Allen-Eikens has already scored 20 or more points in four of eight games while averaging a team-best 20.8 points. Allen-Eikens is also shooting 53.7 percent from the floor while he ranks second on the team in rebounds per game (6.6). Junior guard Dionte Bostick is second on the team in scoring at 15.0 points while he shares the team lead in steals with 15 to go with three 20-point efforts on the year. Senior center Dearon Tucker is third on the team in rebounding at 6.3 while averaging 7.6 points per game.

NEW FACES ON THE BLOCK
Junior forward Keonte Jones has emerged as a top scorer and rebounder in his first season at CSUN. He averages a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game while he is third in points per game (13.3). Jones also has two double-doubles on the season and scored a season-high 17 points in a win over Mississippi Valley State. Up front, graduate forward Jasman Sangha has also made a difference right away, averaging 8.1 points and producing five double-digit performances. Another key newcomer, guard Jordan Brinson has filled up the stat sheet by averaging 7.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists.

CSUN ON THE BIG WEST CHARTS
CSUN currently ranks first in The Big West in rebounds per game (45.2), offensive rebounds per game (13.7), defensive rebounds per game (31.6) and rebounding margin (+15.1) while the Matadors are second in points per game (80.4) and steals per game (8.3). Nationally, CSUN is second in Division I in rebounding margin and fourth in rebounds per game.

De'Sean Allen-Eikens enters play third in The Big West in points per game (20.8), fourth in field goal percentage (53.7) and sixth in rebounds per game (6.6). Allen-Eikens' scoring average is also 20th-best in the nation. Elsewhere on The Big West leaderboards, Keonte Jones is second in the league in field goal percentage (58.6), fourth in rebounds per game (6.9) and fifth in steals per game (1.7). Dionte Bostick is also 11th in points per game (15.0) while Jared Barnett is third in assists per game (4.3).

SCOUTING UTAH TECH
The Trailblazers come in with a 5-4 overall record and 2-0 mark in the WAC. Utah Tech had won three-straight games before falling to Idaho 63-62 this past Saturday. Seven of the team's nine games this season have been played on the road with Utah Tech posting a 4-3 record. Last season, the team had a 14-19 record with a 5-13 WAC record. Prior to this season, Utah Tech was picked to finish 11th in the league. Tanner Christensen has led the team in scoring at 12.8 points while Beon Riley is posting 12.3 points per game. Christensen also tops the squad in rebounding at 7.3 per game. Head coach Jon Judkins is in his 19th season leading the team.

Series History: CSUN and Utah Tech are 1-1 in the all-time series. The teams have squared off in each of the past two seasons with each side holding serve at home. CSUN knocked off Utah Tech 79-73 two seasons ago in Northridge but the Trailblazers returned the favor with a 69-63 triumph in St. George last year.

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CSUN Squares Off with Utah Tech Monday Night

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Players Mentioned

De'Sean Allen-Eikens

Jared Barnett

Dionte Bostick

Jordan Brinson

Keonte Jones

Jasman Sangha

Dearon Tucker