Thursday, March 2
Northridge, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
7-24,4-16Big West
55
vs
81
Hawai'i
22-9,13-6Big West
1
2
F
Hawaii
33
48
81
CSUN
33
22
55
Photo by: Connor Clark
Matadors Fall to Hawai'i on Senior Night
3/2/2023 9:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball kept pace with Hawai'i for 20 minutes but the Rainbow Warriors pulled away in the second half for an 81-55 victory on Senior Night Thursday at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Atin Wright returned to the court and scored a game-high 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting to go with five rebounds and two steals. Dearon Tucker tied a season-high in points with 12.
The Matadors (7-24, 4-16 Big West) would shoot an even 50.0 percent from the floor in the first half as CSUN fought back from a double-digit deficit. The Rainbow Warriors (22-9, 13-6 Big West) led by as many as 10 points near the midway mark of the first half (23-13) before Wright sparked an 11-0 run. The 6-1 guard, who missed last Saturday's game with an injury, scored nine of those 11 points to give the Matadors their first lead at 24-23.
Jovon McClanahan put the Rainbow Warriors on top by two with a 3-point play before CSUN tied it up on two free throws from Tucker on the next time down the floor. Moments later, Wright knocked down a 3-pointer and then made two free throws for a 33-31 Matador lead with 2:23 left in the first half. CSUN though committed a pair of turnovers late while McClanahan converted on a jumper to even the game up at 33-33 at halftime.
Ethan Igbanugo would open the scoring for CSUN early in the second half, but the Matadors missed their next eight field goal attempts. Meanwhile, Hawai'i went on a 14-2 run, capped by another McClanahan basket. Tucker ended the dry spell with a layup in the lane, however, the Bows countered with another 7-2 spurt. The lead swelled to 15 points on a Samuta Avea three with 10:38 left to play.
Wright would score six-straight Matador points to bring his team to within 57-45, but it was the closest CSUN would get down the stretch. Shortly after Wright was whistled for his fourth foul, the Bows scored the next 11 points to put the game away. In the closing minutes, Hawai'i led by as many as 26 points.
GAME NOTES
CSUN shot 38.8 percent for the game while it made 4-of-11 from 3-point range (36.4 percent) and 13-of-22 at the free throw line (59.1 percent). In contrast, Hawai'i finished shooting 41.9 percent from the field to go with 11-of-30 shooting from 3-point range (36.7 percent) and 18-of-20 shooting at the free throw line (90.0 percent). The Rainbow Warriors out-rebounded the Matadors 42-30.
Fidelis Okereke grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, his third double-digit rebounding performance this season, to go with two points.
CSUN celebrated its senior class of Ethan Igbanugo, Arman Pezeshkian and Onyi Eyisi in a pregame ceremony. Igbanugo finished with seven points and two rebounds while Pezeshkian had two points and one steal. Eyisi had a rebound in three minutes of action.
For Hawai'i, Jovon McClanahan had 18 points and five assists.
ACCORDING TO COACH TRENT JOHNSON
"Like I told the guys at halftime, it was 33-33 and we were shooting 50 percent – this is one of the top defensive teams in our league, let alone the country, so be prepared for the second half. If you don't execute, if you don't play with a sense of urgency defensively, it could snowball and that's exactly what happened.
We're off tomorrow. We come back Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 6 p.m. [for practice], and we've got to get ready to go play [at the Big West Championship]."
UP NEXT
CSUN heads to Henderson, Nev. to compete in the 2023 Big West Championship beginning on Tuesday, March 7. The ninth-seeded Matadors will take on eight-seeded CSU Bakersfield in a first-round matchup at 6 p.m. inside the Dollar Loan Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ while Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call at GoMatadors.com/Radio starting at 5:50 p.m.
#UniteTheValley
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The Matadors (7-24, 4-16 Big West) would shoot an even 50.0 percent from the floor in the first half as CSUN fought back from a double-digit deficit. The Rainbow Warriors (22-9, 13-6 Big West) led by as many as 10 points near the midway mark of the first half (23-13) before Wright sparked an 11-0 run. The 6-1 guard, who missed last Saturday's game with an injury, scored nine of those 11 points to give the Matadors their first lead at 24-23.
Jovon McClanahan put the Rainbow Warriors on top by two with a 3-point play before CSUN tied it up on two free throws from Tucker on the next time down the floor. Moments later, Wright knocked down a 3-pointer and then made two free throws for a 33-31 Matador lead with 2:23 left in the first half. CSUN though committed a pair of turnovers late while McClanahan converted on a jumper to even the game up at 33-33 at halftime.
Ethan Igbanugo would open the scoring for CSUN early in the second half, but the Matadors missed their next eight field goal attempts. Meanwhile, Hawai'i went on a 14-2 run, capped by another McClanahan basket. Tucker ended the dry spell with a layup in the lane, however, the Bows countered with another 7-2 spurt. The lead swelled to 15 points on a Samuta Avea three with 10:38 left to play.
Wright would score six-straight Matador points to bring his team to within 57-45, but it was the closest CSUN would get down the stretch. Shortly after Wright was whistled for his fourth foul, the Bows scored the next 11 points to put the game away. In the closing minutes, Hawai'i led by as many as 26 points.
GAME NOTES
CSUN shot 38.8 percent for the game while it made 4-of-11 from 3-point range (36.4 percent) and 13-of-22 at the free throw line (59.1 percent). In contrast, Hawai'i finished shooting 41.9 percent from the field to go with 11-of-30 shooting from 3-point range (36.7 percent) and 18-of-20 shooting at the free throw line (90.0 percent). The Rainbow Warriors out-rebounded the Matadors 42-30.
Fidelis Okereke grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, his third double-digit rebounding performance this season, to go with two points.
CSUN celebrated its senior class of Ethan Igbanugo, Arman Pezeshkian and Onyi Eyisi in a pregame ceremony. Igbanugo finished with seven points and two rebounds while Pezeshkian had two points and one steal. Eyisi had a rebound in three minutes of action.
For Hawai'i, Jovon McClanahan had 18 points and five assists.
ACCORDING TO COACH TRENT JOHNSON
"Like I told the guys at halftime, it was 33-33 and we were shooting 50 percent – this is one of the top defensive teams in our league, let alone the country, so be prepared for the second half. If you don't execute, if you don't play with a sense of urgency defensively, it could snowball and that's exactly what happened.
We're off tomorrow. We come back Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 6 p.m. [for practice], and we've got to get ready to go play [at the Big West Championship]."
UP NEXT
CSUN heads to Henderson, Nev. to compete in the 2023 Big West Championship beginning on Tuesday, March 7. The ninth-seeded Matadors will take on eight-seeded CSU Bakersfield in a first-round matchup at 6 p.m. inside the Dollar Loan Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ while Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call at GoMatadors.com/Radio starting at 5:50 p.m.
#UniteTheValley
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Team Stats
Hawaii
CSUN
FG%
.419
.388
3FG%
.367
.364
FT%
.900
.591
RB
42
30
TO
8
12
STL
3
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
26
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
7
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
4
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
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