Thursday, January 18
Northridge, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
13-5,4-2Big West
69
vs
97
UC Santa Barbara
11-6,4-3Big West
1
2
F
UC Santa Barbara
49
48
97
CSUN
28
41
69
Photo by: Connor Clark
CSUN Falls to Hot Shooting UCSB
1/18/2024 9:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball had its six-game home winning streak snapped in a 97-69 defeat at the hands of UC Santa Barbara on Thursday evening at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Keonte Jones scored a game-high 21 points to go with eight rebounds while Gianni Hunt added 12 points and eight assists. CSUN would fall into an early double-digit hole and could not slow down a hot-shooting Gaucho team throughout the night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
De'Sean Allen-Eikens scored on the Matadors' first possession for a 2-0 lead, however, it would be the last lead for CSUN on the night. The Gauchos scored the next five to stake to an early 5-2 lead. The first five-plus minutes would be near even with CSUN only trailing 9-7, but UCSB took control from then on. The Gauchos knocked down four consecutive threes to take a 21-7 lead. Mahmoud Fofana broke up the 12-0 run with a basket, but Jason Fontenet II hit yet another UCSB three to push the lead further. The lead swelled to 20 points at 34-14 on a layup from Yohan Traore at the 8:52 mark of the first half. Traore later scored four-straight points as CSUN looked up at a 42-17 deficit. CSUN was held to 33.3 percent shooting in the first half while the Gauchos soared at 51.5 percent en route to leading 49-28 at halftime.
CSUN suffered through another slow start in the second half as back-to-back Gaucho threes extended the lead to 27. UCSB built its lead past 30 points on a Traore bucket with 13:45 left to play. Cole Anderson would give UCSB its biggest lead at 77-42 on yet another UCSB three at the nine-minute mark. Jones shouldered the load offensively for CSUN in the second half, scoring 15 points in the period. CSUN had a 9-0 run down the stretch, capped by a Jones dunk, pulling the home team to within 82-58 but the Matadors never got closer. Henry Hartwell made the Gauchos' 15th field goal from three-point range in the final minute of action.
NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"It was probably the worst game we've played all year. We didn't execute, didn't play together and didn't defend, and honestly that's what should happen [when those things happen]. One team came in and played together, made shots and defended. They were fired up and ready to go, and one team didn't."
UP NEXT
CSUN hits the road for a Saturday matchup with UC Riverside. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m. on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call in an audio broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#GoMatadors
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HOW IT HAPPENED
De'Sean Allen-Eikens scored on the Matadors' first possession for a 2-0 lead, however, it would be the last lead for CSUN on the night. The Gauchos scored the next five to stake to an early 5-2 lead. The first five-plus minutes would be near even with CSUN only trailing 9-7, but UCSB took control from then on. The Gauchos knocked down four consecutive threes to take a 21-7 lead. Mahmoud Fofana broke up the 12-0 run with a basket, but Jason Fontenet II hit yet another UCSB three to push the lead further. The lead swelled to 20 points at 34-14 on a layup from Yohan Traore at the 8:52 mark of the first half. Traore later scored four-straight points as CSUN looked up at a 42-17 deficit. CSUN was held to 33.3 percent shooting in the first half while the Gauchos soared at 51.5 percent en route to leading 49-28 at halftime.
CSUN suffered through another slow start in the second half as back-to-back Gaucho threes extended the lead to 27. UCSB built its lead past 30 points on a Traore bucket with 13:45 left to play. Cole Anderson would give UCSB its biggest lead at 77-42 on yet another UCSB three at the nine-minute mark. Jones shouldered the load offensively for CSUN in the second half, scoring 15 points in the period. CSUN had a 9-0 run down the stretch, capped by a Jones dunk, pulling the home team to within 82-58 but the Matadors never got closer. Henry Hartwell made the Gauchos' 15th field goal from three-point range in the final minute of action.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN falls to 13-5 overall and 4-2 in Big West play while UCSB improves to 11-6 overall and 4-3 in conference.
- UCSB shot 53.2 percent for the night while going 15-of-29 from three (51.7 percent) and 16-of-20 from the free throw line (80.0 percent). In contrast, CSUN shot a season-low 39.1 percent to go with shooting 3-of-19 from three (15.8 percent) and 16-of-29 from the free throw line (55.2 percent).
- The Gauchos also controlled the glass, out-rebounding the Matadors 44-33.
- CSUN outscored UCSB 42-32 in points in the paint.
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"It was probably the worst game we've played all year. We didn't execute, didn't play together and didn't defend, and honestly that's what should happen [when those things happen]. One team came in and played together, made shots and defended. They were fired up and ready to go, and one team didn't."
UP NEXT
CSUN hits the road for a Saturday matchup with UC Riverside. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m. on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call in an audio broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#GoMatadors
Â
Team Stats
UCSB
CSUN
FG%
.532
.391
3FG%
.517
.158
FT%
.800
.552
RB
44
33
TO
12
8
STL
5
8
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
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