Friday, December 22
Northridge, Calif.
1:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
9-3,0-0Big West
82
vs
70
Montana State
5-6,0-0Big Sky
1
2
F
Montana St.
37
33
70
CSUN
38
44
82
Photo by: Connor Clark
CSUN Outlasts Montana State to Win Fourth Straight
12/22/2023 4:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball wrapped up non-conference play with its fourth-straight victory, knocking off Montana State 82-70 on Friday afternoon at Premier America Credit Union Arena. De'Sean Allen-Eikens led the way with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting while Dionte Bostick added 18 points and eight rebounds. Jordan Brinson chipped in with 16 points and six assists.
At 9-3 on the year, CSUN has matched its Division I record for its best 12-game start to a season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bobcats would jump out to a 10-4 lead in the early minutes of the game before CSUN went on a 9-2 run, which was closed by a Dionte Bostick three. It would be a back-and-forth first half with nine lead changes and five ties in the 20-minute session. After Bostick evened the game at 17-17, Montana State scored six unanswered on consecutive threes. That was followed by five-straight CSUN points. Gianni Hunt capped a 7-2 CSUN run, putting the Matadors on top 29-27 with 5:15 left in the first half.
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However, Montana State surged back into the lead with six-straight points. De'Sean Allen-Eikens kept CSUN within striking distance though with 15-first half points including making seven-of-eight field goals during one stretch. His jumper gave CSUN the lead with 2:16 left before the Matadors eventually took a 38-37 lead into intermission.
Brandon Walker converted on a layup to close a Bobcat 7-0 run early in the second half. However, the Matadors countered with a 10-0 spurt as Jordan Brinson found Keonte Jones for a thunderous dunk to close the run.
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Montana State's Robert Ford III would score seven-straight points to even the game once more at 51-51. Bryan Ndjonga, who played one minute in the first half, was inserted into the game near the 14-minute mark of the second half and gave CSUN a lift. Ndjonga knocked down a mid-range jumper at the 12-minute mark then followed with a 3-pointer moments later to put the Matadors on top. CSUN eventually completed a 10-0 run, capped by a Jones score in the paint with 9:07 remaining. The Matadors extended their lead to the biggest of the day at 14 points when Bostick picked up a steal and Brinson scored in transition. Montana State made one final run, pulling to within 75-68 with 1:38 left to play, but CSUN scored the next five, highlighted by a three-point play from Bostick to put the game out of reach.
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NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"Matt Logie (Montana State head coach) teams are always super well-coached and super disciplined. They run a great offense and they are hard to guard. I thought I was done having to compete against him and here we are again.
[Bryan Ndjonga] is a talent, he's going to be really good. He's just needs to get more reps, get in there and adapt to the physicality of the college game. He's going to be a special Matador here to come. He can shoot it, he's long, athletic and can go by you. We're really excited about his production over the last two games. As we come back after Christmas, he's going to get more time, and he's certainly earned it.
Jordan [Brinson] has been terrific and he's so explosive as you've seen. He's such a good finisher at the rim and that's what we do. Having him with the ball in his hands something good happens all the time."
UP NEXT
CSUN begin Big West play on Thursday, Dec. 28 with a road test at Cal Poly. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
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At 9-3 on the year, CSUN has matched its Division I record for its best 12-game start to a season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bobcats would jump out to a 10-4 lead in the early minutes of the game before CSUN went on a 9-2 run, which was closed by a Dionte Bostick three. It would be a back-and-forth first half with nine lead changes and five ties in the 20-minute session. After Bostick evened the game at 17-17, Montana State scored six unanswered on consecutive threes. That was followed by five-straight CSUN points. Gianni Hunt capped a 7-2 CSUN run, putting the Matadors on top 29-27 with 5:15 left in the first half.
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Gianni Hunt. Different.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/i0eciYR5R4
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) December 22, 2023
However, Montana State surged back into the lead with six-straight points. De'Sean Allen-Eikens kept CSUN within striking distance though with 15-first half points including making seven-of-eight field goals during one stretch. His jumper gave CSUN the lead with 2:16 left before the Matadors eventually took a 38-37 lead into intermission.
Brandon Walker converted on a layup to close a Bobcat 7-0 run early in the second half. However, the Matadors countered with a 10-0 spurt as Jordan Brinson found Keonte Jones for a thunderous dunk to close the run.
Â
Capping a 10-0 run in style.@JordanBrinson23 ?? @Jelly_Keonte #GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/HcIRNwEDJ2
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) December 22, 2023
Montana State's Robert Ford III would score seven-straight points to even the game once more at 51-51. Bryan Ndjonga, who played one minute in the first half, was inserted into the game near the 14-minute mark of the second half and gave CSUN a lift. Ndjonga knocked down a mid-range jumper at the 12-minute mark then followed with a 3-pointer moments later to put the Matadors on top. CSUN eventually completed a 10-0 run, capped by a Jones score in the paint with 9:07 remaining. The Matadors extended their lead to the biggest of the day at 14 points when Bostick picked up a steal and Brinson scored in transition. Montana State made one final run, pulling to within 75-68 with 1:38 left to play, but CSUN scored the next five, highlighted by a three-point play from Bostick to put the game out of reach.
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The exclamation point from @iBostickDionte??#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/pfcUVox34D
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) December 22, 2023
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN improves to 9-3 on the season while Montana State falls to 5-6.
- The Matadors finished shooting 47.7 percent while making 8-of-21 threes (38.1 percent) and 12-of-25 free throws (48.0 percent). The Bobcats shot 39.7 percent for the game to go with making 7-of-29 threes (24.1 percent) and 17-of-25 free throws (68.0 percent).
- CSUN out-rebounded Montana State 42-38 while leading in points off turnovers 23-11 and points in the paint 44-26.
- Keonte Jones finished with a team-high nine rebounds to go with eight points and four assists. Bryan Ndjonga chipped in with seven points, all of which in the second half.
- CSUN has previously gone 9-3 to start a season in three different campaigns during its Division I history. In addition to the 2012-13 team which started 9-3, CSUN also began the 2007-08 season at 13-3 while the Matadors started the 1999-00 year at 10-3.
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"Matt Logie (Montana State head coach) teams are always super well-coached and super disciplined. They run a great offense and they are hard to guard. I thought I was done having to compete against him and here we are again.
[Bryan Ndjonga] is a talent, he's going to be really good. He's just needs to get more reps, get in there and adapt to the physicality of the college game. He's going to be a special Matador here to come. He can shoot it, he's long, athletic and can go by you. We're really excited about his production over the last two games. As we come back after Christmas, he's going to get more time, and he's certainly earned it.
Jordan [Brinson] has been terrific and he's so explosive as you've seen. He's such a good finisher at the rim and that's what we do. Having him with the ball in his hands something good happens all the time."
UP NEXT
CSUN begin Big West play on Thursday, Dec. 28 with a road test at Cal Poly. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
MSU
CSUN
FG%
.397
.477
3FG%
.241
.381
FT%
.680
.480
RB
38
42
TO
13
10
STL
4
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
10
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
18
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
8
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
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