Saturday, February 18
La Jolla, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
6-21,3-13Big West
62
at
75
UC San Diego
9-18,4-11Big West
1
2
F
CSUN
31
31
62
UC San Diego
34
41
75
Photo by: Cassandra Elena Yra
Matadors Fall at UC San Diego
2/18/2023 9:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball dropped a 75-62 decision at UC San Diego on Saturday at LionTree Arena. Atin Wright led the way offensively with 17 points to go with five assists while De'Sean Allen-Eikens added 14 points and six rebounds. Marcel Stevens chipped in with 10 points and two steals. The Matadors trailed by four near the midway point of the second half but could not hold off the Tritons down the stretch.
After an even first five minutes of the game, the Tritons scored seven unanswered for a 16-8 lead. CSUN responded with a 6-0 run of its own and later evened the contest at 18-18 on an Ethan Igbanugo free throw. The Matadors would have a pair of opportunities to take the lead, but instead the Tritons scored the next four points highlighted by a Francis Nwaokorie dunk.Â
Bryce Pope knocked down a jumper to extend the Triton lead to 27-20 near the five-minute mark of the first half. CSUN continued to battled back though and soon pulled to within two on a Stevens three. After Fidelis Okereke picked up a steal leading to a Johnnie Walter basket, Wright tied the game once more at 31-31 on a jumper. CSUN would commit a turnover late in the half leading to a Pope three-point play as UCSD led 34-31 at intermission.
Pope also opened the scoring to start the second half on a 3-pointer. CSUN would earn 17 trips to the free throw line in the second half but managed to make 10 attempts. The Matadors missed four of six free throws during one stretch while the Tritons took advantage by stretching their lead to double digits.
Near the midway point of the second half, CSUN made another push, eventually pulling to within 50-46 after Igbanugo sank a three. However, in a pivotal stretch, the Matadors would miss their next five field goals attempts as the Tritons went on a 10-0 run to extend to a 60-46 lead.
Over the last eight minutes, CSUN could not trim the deficit to less than 12 points while UCSD built as big a lead as 19 in the final moments of the game.
GAME NOTES
CSUN (6-21, 3-13 Big West) shot 35.2 percent for the game while the Matadors made 5-of-15 from 3-point range (33.3 percent) and 19-of-28 at the free throw line (67.9 percent). In contrast, the Tritons (9-18, 4-11 Big West) finished shooting 46.3 percent to go with 6-of-21 shooting from 3-point range (28.6 percent). UCSD though made 19-of-22 at the free throw line (86.4 percent). On the glass, each team collected 35 rebounds. The Tritons outscored the Matadors 36-18 in points in the paint.
UC San Diego honored the late Nick Herrmann before the game in a special ceremony. Herrmann's family was on hand for the event. A San Diego native, Herrmann played minutes away from UC San Diego at Torrey Pines High School and was a teammate of the Tritons' Bryce Pope.Â
For UCSD, Pope had a game-high 24 points.
ACCORDING TO COACH TRENT JOHNSON
"They wore us down in the second half. They're a tough cover and they have good ball movement. Defensively, they put a lot of pressure on your principles and fundamentals because they can spread you. We just have to get more contributions from guys. I thought they did a really good job on Atin in terms of being physical with him. And I thought De'Sean did a good job. It's the defensive end. We're 35-35 on the glass and we go 19-for-28 at the free throw line but we went 19-for-54 from the field. That's not going to get it done on the road."
UP NEXT
CSUN will have a quick turnaround as the Matadors host UC Riverside on Monday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call in an audio broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio starting at 6:50 p.m.
#UniteTheValley
Â
After an even first five minutes of the game, the Tritons scored seven unanswered for a 16-8 lead. CSUN responded with a 6-0 run of its own and later evened the contest at 18-18 on an Ethan Igbanugo free throw. The Matadors would have a pair of opportunities to take the lead, but instead the Tritons scored the next four points highlighted by a Francis Nwaokorie dunk.Â
Bryce Pope knocked down a jumper to extend the Triton lead to 27-20 near the five-minute mark of the first half. CSUN continued to battled back though and soon pulled to within two on a Stevens three. After Fidelis Okereke picked up a steal leading to a Johnnie Walter basket, Wright tied the game once more at 31-31 on a jumper. CSUN would commit a turnover late in the half leading to a Pope three-point play as UCSD led 34-31 at intermission.
Pope also opened the scoring to start the second half on a 3-pointer. CSUN would earn 17 trips to the free throw line in the second half but managed to make 10 attempts. The Matadors missed four of six free throws during one stretch while the Tritons took advantage by stretching their lead to double digits.
Near the midway point of the second half, CSUN made another push, eventually pulling to within 50-46 after Igbanugo sank a three. However, in a pivotal stretch, the Matadors would miss their next five field goals attempts as the Tritons went on a 10-0 run to extend to a 60-46 lead.
Over the last eight minutes, CSUN could not trim the deficit to less than 12 points while UCSD built as big a lead as 19 in the final moments of the game.
GAME NOTES
CSUN (6-21, 3-13 Big West) shot 35.2 percent for the game while the Matadors made 5-of-15 from 3-point range (33.3 percent) and 19-of-28 at the free throw line (67.9 percent). In contrast, the Tritons (9-18, 4-11 Big West) finished shooting 46.3 percent to go with 6-of-21 shooting from 3-point range (28.6 percent). UCSD though made 19-of-22 at the free throw line (86.4 percent). On the glass, each team collected 35 rebounds. The Tritons outscored the Matadors 36-18 in points in the paint.
UC San Diego honored the late Nick Herrmann before the game in a special ceremony. Herrmann's family was on hand for the event. A San Diego native, Herrmann played minutes away from UC San Diego at Torrey Pines High School and was a teammate of the Tritons' Bryce Pope.Â
For UCSD, Pope had a game-high 24 points.
ACCORDING TO COACH TRENT JOHNSON
"They wore us down in the second half. They're a tough cover and they have good ball movement. Defensively, they put a lot of pressure on your principles and fundamentals because they can spread you. We just have to get more contributions from guys. I thought they did a really good job on Atin in terms of being physical with him. And I thought De'Sean did a good job. It's the defensive end. We're 35-35 on the glass and we go 19-for-28 at the free throw line but we went 19-for-54 from the field. That's not going to get it done on the road."
UP NEXT
CSUN will have a quick turnaround as the Matadors host UC Riverside on Monday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call in an audio broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio starting at 6:50 p.m.
#UniteTheValley
Â
Team Stats
CSUN
UCSD
FG%
.352
.463
3FG%
.333
.286
FT%
.679
.864
RB
35
35
TO
11
9
STL
4
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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