Saturday, February 11
Northridge, Calif.
1:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
6-19,3-11Big West
64
vs
53
Cal Poly
7-19,1-13Big West
1
2
F
Cal Poly
28
25
53
CSUN
20
44
64
Photo by: Connor Clark
Matadors Rally from 16 Down to Upend Cal Poly
2/11/2023 5:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---After trailing by 16 points in the second half, CSUN (6-19, 3-11 Big West) completed a late rally to defeat Cal Poly (7-19, 1-13 Big West) 64-53 on Saturday afternoon at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Atin Wright scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second half while De'Sean Allen-Eikens added 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. Onyi Eyisi chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds. CSUN outscored Cal Poly 44-25 in the second half and ended the game on a 29-6 run.
CSUN opened up the game with a 4-0 lead after baskets from Dearon Tucker and Fidelis Okereke. The Matadors held a lead until the 12-minute mark of the first half as Cal Poly grabbed its first lead on a Trevon Taylor basket. Minutes later, the Mustangs completed an 8-0 run, closed by a pair of free throws from Alimamy Koroma for a 20-12 advantage.
The Matadors shot just 37.5 percent in the first half as the Mustangs built a double-digit lead. A near four-minute scoring drought coupled by five-straight Mustang points put CSUN behind 25-14 with 2:50 left before halftime. CSUN would close the half on a 6-2 spurt, capped by four points from Allen-Eikens to pull to within 28-20 at intermission.
Out of the break, Marcel Stevens drained a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to five. Wright also converted on a three but the Mustangs scored the next eight points to stretch the lead back to 12. The deficit grew to as big as 16 points with 12:57 left to play after Brantly Stevenson scored on a putback layup.
Beginning with a Tucker basket, the Matadors would work their way back into the game. CSUN turned Cal Poly over a pair of times while scoring seven unanswered to cut the lead to nine. A Chance Hunter three gave the Mustangs a bit of breathing room, but the Matadors countered with eight-straight points, six of which scored by Wright.
Eyisi would come alive for CSUN near the five-minute mark, scoring back-to-back baskets then picking up a block on the other end. The Matadors would take their first lead of the second half at the free throw line when Fidelis Okereke made two in a row to put CSUN on top by one (51-50). Playing with four fouls down the stretch, Wright broke a 51-51 tie with a 3-pointer with 1:39 remaining before scoring two at the foul line after a CSUN defensive stop.
The Matadors' defense held the Mustangs without a field goal for nearly the final seven minutes of the game while the Matadors made 10 free throws over the final 1:13 to secure the win.
GAME NOTES
The Matadors shot 43.8 percent for the game while making 4-of-12 from 3-point range (33.3 percent) and 18-of-20 from the free throw line (90.0 percent). On the flip side, Cal Poly shot 38.8 percent to go with 6-of-20 shooting at the 3-point line (30.0 percent) and 9-of-17 attempts at the free throw line (52.9 percent). CSUN out-rebouned Cal Poly 36-25 and led in points in the paint, 30-16.
After missing their first two free throws, the Matadors made their next 18 to end the game. Fidelis Okereke grabbed nine rebounds to go with eight points and one block. Atin Wright made all eight of his free throws while going 6-of-11 from the field.
For Cal Poly, Brantly Stevenson scored a team-high 14 points.
ACCORDING TO COACH TRENT JOHNSON
"I thought the first half looked like the first half against Bakersfield. For whatever reason we were lethargic. I thought we were fighting ourselves and guys were trying to do too much.
We came out methodically in the second half and continued to fight and grind. We beat a good team. It's a talented team and a well-coached team. They're snakebit. They've been in every league game and could easily have six or seven wins. Our guys didn't lose sight of that.
"Individually, De'Sean is doing a really good job with his leadership. I thought that was the Onyi of old and it's what we've been missing. With Atin, they went at him. Still though, he kept his composure. We went offense for defense so he can shoot free throws and he had a very efficient 22 points."
UP NEXT
CSUN hits the road next week for a pair of games starting with a Wednesday clash with UC Davis at 6 p.m. on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call at GoMatadors.com/Radio beginning at 5:50 p.m.
#UniteTheValley
Â
CSUN opened up the game with a 4-0 lead after baskets from Dearon Tucker and Fidelis Okereke. The Matadors held a lead until the 12-minute mark of the first half as Cal Poly grabbed its first lead on a Trevon Taylor basket. Minutes later, the Mustangs completed an 8-0 run, closed by a pair of free throws from Alimamy Koroma for a 20-12 advantage.
The Matadors shot just 37.5 percent in the first half as the Mustangs built a double-digit lead. A near four-minute scoring drought coupled by five-straight Mustang points put CSUN behind 25-14 with 2:50 left before halftime. CSUN would close the half on a 6-2 spurt, capped by four points from Allen-Eikens to pull to within 28-20 at intermission.
Out of the break, Marcel Stevens drained a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to five. Wright also converted on a three but the Mustangs scored the next eight points to stretch the lead back to 12. The deficit grew to as big as 16 points with 12:57 left to play after Brantly Stevenson scored on a putback layup.
Beginning with a Tucker basket, the Matadors would work their way back into the game. CSUN turned Cal Poly over a pair of times while scoring seven unanswered to cut the lead to nine. A Chance Hunter three gave the Mustangs a bit of breathing room, but the Matadors countered with eight-straight points, six of which scored by Wright.
Eyisi would come alive for CSUN near the five-minute mark, scoring back-to-back baskets then picking up a block on the other end. The Matadors would take their first lead of the second half at the free throw line when Fidelis Okereke made two in a row to put CSUN on top by one (51-50). Playing with four fouls down the stretch, Wright broke a 51-51 tie with a 3-pointer with 1:39 remaining before scoring two at the foul line after a CSUN defensive stop.
The Matadors' defense held the Mustangs without a field goal for nearly the final seven minutes of the game while the Matadors made 10 free throws over the final 1:13 to secure the win.
GAME NOTES
The Matadors shot 43.8 percent for the game while making 4-of-12 from 3-point range (33.3 percent) and 18-of-20 from the free throw line (90.0 percent). On the flip side, Cal Poly shot 38.8 percent to go with 6-of-20 shooting at the 3-point line (30.0 percent) and 9-of-17 attempts at the free throw line (52.9 percent). CSUN out-rebouned Cal Poly 36-25 and led in points in the paint, 30-16.
After missing their first two free throws, the Matadors made their next 18 to end the game. Fidelis Okereke grabbed nine rebounds to go with eight points and one block. Atin Wright made all eight of his free throws while going 6-of-11 from the field.
For Cal Poly, Brantly Stevenson scored a team-high 14 points.
ACCORDING TO COACH TRENT JOHNSON
"I thought the first half looked like the first half against Bakersfield. For whatever reason we were lethargic. I thought we were fighting ourselves and guys were trying to do too much.
We came out methodically in the second half and continued to fight and grind. We beat a good team. It's a talented team and a well-coached team. They're snakebit. They've been in every league game and could easily have six or seven wins. Our guys didn't lose sight of that.
"Individually, De'Sean is doing a really good job with his leadership. I thought that was the Onyi of old and it's what we've been missing. With Atin, they went at him. Still though, he kept his composure. We went offense for defense so he can shoot free throws and he had a very efficient 22 points."
UP NEXT
CSUN hits the road next week for a pair of games starting with a Wednesday clash with UC Davis at 6 p.m. on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call at GoMatadors.com/Radio beginning at 5:50 p.m.
#UniteTheValley
Â
Team Stats
CPO
CSUN
FG%
.388
.438
3FG%
.300
.333
FT%
.529
.900
RB
25
36
TO
12
15
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
8
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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