Matadors Host First-Place UCSB on Saturday Night

FULL GAME NOTES

NORTHRIDGE, Calf.---CSUN Men's Basketball returns to action on Saturday night when the Matadors host first-place UC Santa Barbara inside Premier America Credit Union Arena. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call starting at 6:50 p.m. at GoMatadors.com/Radio.

LAST TIME OUT
CSUN (4-18, 1-10 Big West) dropped a Saturday night contest at UC Irvine, 81-56. The Matadors kept pace with one of the top teams in The Big West for the first half, trailing only by a 31-24 margin. However, The Anteaters went on a 17-2 run early in the second half to take control of the contest. Atin Wright led the way offensively with 19 points while Cam Slaymaker chipped in with a career-high 12 points off the bench. Fidelis Okereke had a game-high 11 rebounds to go with four blocked shots. The Matadors played without Dionte Bostick for the first time this season.

Earlier last week, the Matadors fell by a slim 65-57 margin to UC San Diego at Premier America Credit Union Arena on Thursday. CSUN trimmed a 15-point deficit to single digits late in the contest but could not complete the comeback. Wright again topped the team in scoring with 18 points while Marcel Stevens and Slaymaker had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

MATADOR HEADLINES
Atin Wright continues to heat up on the offensive end for the Matadors. Over the past four games, Wright has scored 18 or more points and led the team in scoring in three of those games. The 6-1 guard has also inched closer to cracking the Matadors' all-time career top-10 3-point field goals made list. Wright has made 113 shots from long range in his career, which is eight away from 10th place.

Last week, freshman Cam Slaymaker posted back-to-back double-digit scoring performances for the first time in his collegiate career. Slaymaker averaged 11.0 points in the Matadors' two games to go with 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. He also made all six of his free throws and made 4-of-10 baskets from 3-point range.

In the Big West, Wright is ninth in the league in points per game (14.6) and Dionte Bostick is ranked in 15th place (12.4). Wright tops The Big West in free throw percentage (875) while he is seventh in 3-point field goals made per game (1.9) and eighth in steals per game (1.4). Bostick check in 11th place in assists per game (2.7).

SERIES HISTORY
UCSB improved to 46-21 all time against CSUN with a 72-52 win at the Thunderdome on Jan. 19. The Gauchos have won the last five games in the series including posting season sweeps over the last two seasons. CSUN is seeking its first win over UC Santa Barbara since Jan. 30, 2020, when Lamine Diane scored 26 points in a Matadors 79-67 victory.

SCOUTING UC SANTA BARBARA
The Gauchos lead The Big West with a 9-1 conference record to go with an 18-3 overall record. UCSB has won five consecutive games after picking up a 68-62 win over Cal Poly on Thursday night. On the road, the Gauchos have won nine of 11 games and posted a perfect 5-0 record in Big West play. Head coach Joe Pasternack is in his fifth season leading the Gauchos.

Ajay Mitchell is sixth in The Big West in points per game (15.9) while he leads the league in assists per game (4.8). Miles Norris is the team's other double-digit scorer, averaging 13.6 points. Norris is also seventh in the conference in rebounds per game (6.3) followed by Andre Kelly in eighth place (6.2). As a team, UCSB leads The Big West in scoring defense (62.0) and field goal percentage (49.6).

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Matadors Host First-Place UCSB on Saturday Night

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Players Mentioned

Dionte Bostick

Fidelis Okereke

Cam Slaymaker

Marcel Stevens

Atin Wright