Saturday, January 13
Northridge, Calif.
1:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
13-4,4-1Big West
76
vs
71
Cal State Fullerton
8-9,1-4Big West
1
2
F
Cal St. Fullerton
36
35
71
CSUN
34
42
76
Photo by: Connor Clark
CSUN Bounces Back with 76-71 Win Over Fullerton
1/13/2024 3:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball edged Cal State Fullerton for a bounce back 76-71 win on Saturday afternoon at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Keonte Jones led the way with a team-high 17 points to go with six rebounds while Jasman Sangha and Dionte Bostick chipped in with 15 points apiece. The Matadors would outscore the Titans 12-6 over the final four-plus minutes to pick up the close win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In a game that featured 16 ties and 11 lead changes, CSUN opened the game on an 8-2 run. Gianni Hunt buried a pair of early threes including a trey that put CSUN on top 15-9 with 10:56 on the clock. The Titans would battle back with six-straight points to even the game at 15-15, but Dionte Bostick answered with a three. Keonte Jones gave CSUN a 27-21 advantage with under six minutes to play in the first half before the Titans evened the game and eventually took a late lead on a Grayson Carper three. Jared Barnett knocked down a trey of his own with 1:12 to play but the Titans went into halftime with a 36-34 lead on two free throws from Zachary Visentin.
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CSUN received a big lift from Jasman Sangha in the second half with 13 points. Sangha made back-to-back baskets to start the second period while Bostick later scored four-straight points for a slim CSUN 45-43 lead. After making four consecutive free throws, Sangha converted on a three-point play following a Jones steal for a CSUN 52-50 lead with 12:14 left to play.
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The Titans though refused to go away as four consecutive points put the visitors back on top, 54-52. Max Jones would give Fullerton a slim 60-59 edge on a three-point play before CSUN scored the next four, capped by a Hunt field goal. The Titans regained the lead at 65-64 with 4:34 left to play before CSUN received a timely three-point play from Jones. The Matadors earned five consecutive defensive stops including a Mahmoud Fofana steal leading to a Titan foul and two free throws from Jones for a 71-65 lead. Fullerton picked up threes from Grayson Carper and Tory San Antonio, but the Matadors made five free throws in the final minute to hold on for the victory.
NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"The result was good, we still have a long way to go, but I'm really proud of their effort. We're going to keep chipping away at this thing. It says a lot about your team when you can still win and you don't play your best basketball."
UP NEXT
CSUN stays at home for a matchup with defending Big West champion UC Santa Barbara on Thursday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call on ESPN+ and GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#GoMatadors
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HOW IT HAPPENED
In a game that featured 16 ties and 11 lead changes, CSUN opened the game on an 8-2 run. Gianni Hunt buried a pair of early threes including a trey that put CSUN on top 15-9 with 10:56 on the clock. The Titans would battle back with six-straight points to even the game at 15-15, but Dionte Bostick answered with a three. Keonte Jones gave CSUN a 27-21 advantage with under six minutes to play in the first half before the Titans evened the game and eventually took a late lead on a Grayson Carper three. Jared Barnett knocked down a trey of his own with 1:12 to play but the Titans went into halftime with a 36-34 lead on two free throws from Zachary Visentin.
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Bostick breaks the tie.#GoMatadors x @iBostickDionte pic.twitter.com/lYLRex6ILv
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) January 13, 2024
CSUN received a big lift from Jasman Sangha in the second half with 13 points. Sangha made back-to-back baskets to start the second period while Bostick later scored four-straight points for a slim CSUN 45-43 lead. After making four consecutive free throws, Sangha converted on a three-point play following a Jones steal for a CSUN 52-50 lead with 12:14 left to play.
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Big man is heating up.
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) January 13, 2024
13 points (5-5 FT) for @JasmanSangha_ to put CSUN up by two.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/ACLmkp1mC3
The Titans though refused to go away as four consecutive points put the visitors back on top, 54-52. Max Jones would give Fullerton a slim 60-59 edge on a three-point play before CSUN scored the next four, capped by a Hunt field goal. The Titans regained the lead at 65-64 with 4:34 left to play before CSUN received a timely three-point play from Jones. The Matadors earned five consecutive defensive stops including a Mahmoud Fofana steal leading to a Titan foul and two free throws from Jones for a 71-65 lead. Fullerton picked up threes from Grayson Carper and Tory San Antonio, but the Matadors made five free throws in the final minute to hold on for the victory.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN improves to 13-4 overall and 4-1 in Big West play while Cal State Fullerton drops to 8-9 overall and 1-4 in conference.
- CSUN's 4-1 start to Big West play is the program's best conference start since 2007-08.
- The Matadors shot 40.4 percent for the game to go with shooting 7-of-17 from three (41.2 percent) and 23-of-32 from the free throw line (71.9 percent). In contrast, the Titans shot 37.9 percent overall while making 7-of-22 threes (31.8 percent) and 20-of-22 free throws (90.9 percent).
- CSUN out-rebounded Fullerton 39-36 and 13-10 in offensive rebounds.
- Gianni Hunt also scored in double figures, finishing with 11 points to go with five rebounds and four assists.
- Mahmoud Fofana led the team with nine rebounds to go with four points and two steals.
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"The result was good, we still have a long way to go, but I'm really proud of their effort. We're going to keep chipping away at this thing. It says a lot about your team when you can still win and you don't play your best basketball."
UP NEXT
CSUN stays at home for a matchup with defending Big West champion UC Santa Barbara on Thursday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call on ESPN+ and GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
CSF
CSUN
FG%
.379
.404
3FG%
.318
.412
FT%
.909
.719
RB
36
39
TO
15
15
STL
12
14
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
8
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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