CSUN Opens Big West Championship with CSU Bakersfield

FULL GAME NOTES

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball embarks on the 2023 Big West Championship in Henderson, Nev. this week. The ninth-seeded Matadors open up against eighth-seeded CSU Bakersfield in a first round matchup on Tuesday at 6 p.m. on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call in an audio broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio with coverage starting at 5:50 p.m. inside the Dollar Loan Center.

LAST TIME OUT
The Matadors wrapped up the regular season with an 81-55 loss to Hawai'i last Thursday at Premier America Credit Union Arena. CSUN kept pace with the Rainbow Warriors for a half as the teams were tied at 33-33 after 20 minutes. However, Hawai'i took control in the second half with an early 17-4 run and never looked back.

After missing a game with an injury, Atin Wright came off the bench to score 26 points in 27 minutes of play. Dearon Tucker tied a season high in points with 12 while Fidelis Okereke grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.

SERIES HISTORY WITH CSU BAKERSFIELD
Overall, CSU Bakersfield leads CSUN 26-25 in the all-time series. The teams split the season series in 2022-23 with each side holding serve at home. The Roadrunners took the first meeting at the Icardo Center, 73-58, on Feb. 9 while CSUN returned the favor with a 75-68 win at Premier America Credit Union Arena on Feb. 23. Atin Wright led the Matadors with 28 points in the home victory.

For the second consecutive season, the Matadors are taking on CSU Bakersfield in an opening round matchup at the conference tournament. The Roadrunners held the Matadors to their second-lowest point total of the 2021-22 season in last year's tournament matchup as CSUN fell by a 58-45 margin. CSUN previously played CSUB in the postseason when the teams' were Division II members with Bakersfield coming out on top 57-56 in a CCAA Tournament game.

MATADORS AT THE BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP
CSUN is making its 17th appearance at The Big West Championship on Tuesday. The Matadors look to snap a six-game skid at the event and collect their first win since the semifinal round of the 2014 Big West Championship against Long Beach State (82-77).

MATADOR HEADLINES
Sophomore guard Atin Wright heads into postseason fourth in The Big West in scoring average at a 17.0 clip. Wright has enjoyed a career season on the court, highlighted by a pair of milestones. The 6-1 guard became the 23rd Matador in team history to surpass 1,000 career points on Feb. 23 against CSU Bakersfield. He also set a new Division I scoring record with 42 points at UC Davis on Feb. 15. This season, Wright has set new careers highs in points per game, rebounds per game (3.2), assists per game (1.8), field goal percentage (.404), 3-point percentage (33.9) and steals (39). His 148 made free throws this season are the eighth-most in a single season in team history while his 61 made threes are the 10th highest.

CSUN has played the last 10 games without point guard Dionte Bostick who is out with an injury. A transfer from Murray State, Bostick was previously having a career season with the Matadors, averaging 12.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals. He started the team's first 21 games and scored in double figures in 13 of those games, highlighted by a 31-point performance at Utah Tech on Nov. 12.

Without Bostick, a number of Matadors have stepped up to help shoulder the load. De'Sean Allen-Eikens has raised his scoring average from 10.4 to 10.9 points per game while he shares the team lead in rebounding (5.1). Ethan Igbanugo has increased his scoring average a full point to 6.0 per game and made 16-of-31 threes over the past 10 games. On the glass, Fidelis Okereke has improved his rebounding from 4.8 to 5.1 during that stretch while scoring 4.4 points per game.

SCOUTING CSU BAKERSFIELD
The Roadrunners went 10-21 overall and 6-14 in Big West play this season. After winning four of five games earlier in the month of February, CSUB dropped its final five games of the regular season. At last season's Big West Championship, the 'Runners advanced to the quarterfinal round where they fell to top-seeded Long Beach State. Head coach Rod Barnes is currently in his 12th season at the helm of the program.

CSUB played a majority of its schedule without its leading scorer Kaleb Higgins (13.1 points per game). In Higgins' absence, Antavion Collum emerged as the team's top scorer, finishing the regular season averaging 12.8 points to go with 4.9 rebounds per game. Other top scorers on the team include Marvin McGhee III (8.9 points per game) and Cameron Smith (8.5 points per game). Smith also was among the team's top rebounders at 5.6 per game. The 'Runners lead The Big West in free throw percentage (76.2) while they are third in scoring defense (64.9).

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CSUN Opens Big West Championship with CSU Bakersfield

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Players Mentioned

De'Sean Allen-Eikens

Dionte Bostick

Ethan Igbanugo

Fidelis Okereke

Dearon Tucker

Atin Wright