Saturday, January 27
Irvine, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
13-8,4-5Big West
72
at
77
UC Irvine
15-6,8-1Big West
1
2
F
CSUN
34
38
72
UC Irvine
34
43
77
Photo by: Connor Clark
CSUN Comeback Falls Short at UC Irvine
1/27/2024 10:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
IRVINE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball nearly erased a 14-point second-half deficit but came up just short in a 77-72 loss to UC Irvine at the Bren Events Center on Saturday. Dionte Bostick had a team-high 18 points while De'Sean Allen-Eikens had 15 points and Jasman Sangha had 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting. CSUN pulled to within two in the final minute of play but UC Irvine held on in the closing moments.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a close first five minutes of play, CSUN grabbed its first lead at 11-9 on a Sangha basket at the 15:00 mark. Overall, there would be seven lead changes and four ties in the first half. Sangha scored again at the 11:20 point of the first half, but UCI countered with a 5-0 run. CSUN would strike for 10 in a row, highlighted by a pair of threes including a trey from Gianni Hunt for a 24-17 lead. The Anteaters scored the next five before Mahmoud Fofana scored in a traffic to put CSUN on top 26-22 with 5:35 on the clock. The teams traded 7-0 runs down the stretch of the first half before CSUN grabbed a 34-31 lead on a Bostick free throw . However, Justin Hohn hit a late three to even the game at 34-34 at intermission.
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Sangha scored once more at the 18:31 mark of the second half for a CSUN 36-35 lead. UCI though scored the next eight with Andre Henry's three giving the home team a 43-36 edge. Bostick connected on a three-point play at the 15-minute mark, but UCI soon increased its lead to double digits on a Dean Keeler jumper. Dylan Thoerner sank a three to push the lead further then Hohn made it a 62-48 game with a jumper with 10:00 remaining.
The Matadors trailed by that same margin (66-52) with seven-plus minutes left before making one final push. CSUN scored seven unanswered with Bostick scoring a three-point play to trim the deficit in half. The Matadors clawed to within five on three separate occasions before pulling to within 72-70 on another Bostick three-point play with 1:23 on the clock.
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Hohn hit a timely basket for UCI, but De'Sean Allen-Eikens made a layup on CSUN's next possession for a 74-72 score. With less than 30 seconds to play, CSUN forced a missed shot, however, Keeler picked up the offensive board then was fouled. Keeler sank both free throws and UCI picked up a defensive stop to seal the win.
NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"Great fight. I'm really proud of them. If we play like this, we're going to have a great finish to the season. That was a great first step for us. Obviously, you want to come out on top, but [UC Irvine] is a really good team, you fought them to the last possession, and we're still not playing our best basketball. Those are good things."
UP NEXT
CSUN travels to UC San Diego next Thursday (Feb. 1). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#GoMatadors
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HOW IT HAPPENED
After a close first five minutes of play, CSUN grabbed its first lead at 11-9 on a Sangha basket at the 15:00 mark. Overall, there would be seven lead changes and four ties in the first half. Sangha scored again at the 11:20 point of the first half, but UCI countered with a 5-0 run. CSUN would strike for 10 in a row, highlighted by a pair of threes including a trey from Gianni Hunt for a 24-17 lead. The Anteaters scored the next five before Mahmoud Fofana scored in a traffic to put CSUN on top 26-22 with 5:35 on the clock. The teams traded 7-0 runs down the stretch of the first half before CSUN grabbed a 34-31 lead on a Bostick free throw . However, Justin Hohn hit a late three to even the game at 34-34 at intermission.
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Matadors with quick offense
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) January 28, 2024
Mahmoud Fofana with the tough finish#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/Qlog3sRbPi
Sangha scored once more at the 18:31 mark of the second half for a CSUN 36-35 lead. UCI though scored the next eight with Andre Henry's three giving the home team a 43-36 edge. Bostick connected on a three-point play at the 15-minute mark, but UCI soon increased its lead to double digits on a Dean Keeler jumper. Dylan Thoerner sank a three to push the lead further then Hohn made it a 62-48 game with a jumper with 10:00 remaining.
The Matadors trailed by that same margin (66-52) with seven-plus minutes left before making one final push. CSUN scored seven unanswered with Bostick scoring a three-point play to trim the deficit in half. The Matadors clawed to within five on three separate occasions before pulling to within 72-70 on another Bostick three-point play with 1:23 on the clock.
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Dionte Bostick with the clutch bucket and one#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/FgxVuWw20L
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) January 28, 2024
Hohn hit a timely basket for UCI, but De'Sean Allen-Eikens made a layup on CSUN's next possession for a 74-72 score. With less than 30 seconds to play, CSUN forced a missed shot, however, Keeler picked up the offensive board then was fouled. Keeler sank both free throws and UCI picked up a defensive stop to seal the win.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN falls to 13-8 overall and 4-5 in conference while UC Irvine improves to 15-6 overall and 8-1 in league action.
- UC Irvine shot 44.1 percent while going 8-of-22 from three (36.4 percent) and 17-of-25 from the free throw line (68.0 percent). CSUN shot 42.2 percent overall to go with 4-of-5 shooting from three (80.0 percent) and 14-of-21 from the free throw line (66.7 percent).
- UCI out-rebounded CSUN 43-36.
- The Matadors held a 44-24 edge in points in the paint.
- Keonte Jones had a team-high 11 rebounds with seven points before fouling out. Jasman Sangha would foul out as well, posting his 12 points in just eight minutes.
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"Great fight. I'm really proud of them. If we play like this, we're going to have a great finish to the season. That was a great first step for us. Obviously, you want to come out on top, but [UC Irvine] is a really good team, you fought them to the last possession, and we're still not playing our best basketball. Those are good things."
UP NEXT
CSUN travels to UC San Diego next Thursday (Feb. 1). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
CSUN
Irvine
FG%
.422
.441
3FG%
.800
.364
FT%
.667
.680
RB
36
43
TO
12
14
STL
7
3
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF/C
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