Wednesday, November 27
Missoula, Mont.
6:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
5-2,0-0Big West
75
at
83
Montana
5-3,0-0Big Sky
1
2
F
CSUN
27
48
75
Montana
33
50
83
CSUN's Win Streak Snapped at Montana
11/27/2024 8:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MISSOULA, Mont.---CSUN Men's Basketball had its five-game win streak snapped by Montana in an 83-75 defeat in the final game of the Stew Morrill Classic on Wednesday at Dahlberg Arena. The Matadors struggled from the field for most of the night until catching fire late in the game while the Grizzlies scored 50 points in the second half and led for the entire period.
Marcus Adams Jr. led the way with 17 points while Keonte Jones posted a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds to go with four assists, three blocks and three steals. Both Adams and Jones were named to the Stew Morrill Classic All-Tournament Team.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The Matadors missed their first five shots to begin the game but remained with striking distance. Adams nailed the Matadors' first field goal, a shot from 3-point range, at the 16:40 mark of the first period to pull CSUN to within 4-3. The Matadors would finally get going on the offensive end, producing a 8-0 run to take an 11-7 lead on a Grady Lewis basket at the 13:13 mark. The Grizzlies answered with an 8-1 run before CSUN countered with its own 6-0 spurt as Jones put the Matadors on top 18-15. CSUN held a 20-19 edge with 7:18 left on the clock before missing six consecutive shots during a key stretch. The Matadors, who shot 29.7 percent in the first half, went without a point for four minutes while Montana executed a 9-0 run to take a 28-20 edge with 3:57 left. Jones finally ended the scoring drought with a three, but Montana maintained a lead for the remainder of the half. Scotty Washington closed the period with a late basket, pulling CSUN to within 33-27 at intermission.
CSUN closed the gap to 33-29 on a basket from Lewis to begin the second half, but the Grizzlies scored the next five points. The Matadors continued to chip away at the deficit, pulling to within 40-35 on two free throws from Jones before Montana turned the tide with a 6-0 run. Malik Moore nailed a three, one of six Griz threes in the second half, to stretch the lead to 50-39 with 11:15 left to play. PJ Fuller II stopped the Montana momentum with a three while Adams and Jones followed with baskets to again pull CSUN within four at 50-46. However, Montana quickly answered with a three from Kai Johnson, which led to an eventual 7-0 run that stretched the lead to 60-48. Montana caught fire from the field, making six consecutive shots, highlighted by threes from Moore and Johnson for the team's biggest lead at 75-60 with 3:15 left to play.
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The Matadors looked up at a 79-64 deficit with 1:48 left to play but showed little quit in the final moments as CSUN went on a furious rally to end the game. Fuller completed a traditional three-point play followed by a Jones steal and basket to cut the gap to 10. Judson Martindale drilled a three and later knocked down three free throws in the final seconds, pulling CSUN to within eight, but time was not on its side as the Grizzlies held on for the win.
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NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH SCOTT CUTLEY
"Montana did a great job of packing the paint and shots were not falling. We were getting open looks in the beginning and they weren't going in. That built the momentum for Montana. They were able to get down hill, get some shots and in the second half, they were also making some contested threes. There were some breakdowns defensively by us where they were making some uncontested threes. Hats off to them, they played a great and came in with a great game plan. Just bad luck on our end for not making shots when we needed to."
UP NEXT
CSUN closes its road trip on Saturday afternoon against Montana State. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. on ESPN+ while an audio broadcast will be available at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
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#GoMatadors
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Marcus Adams Jr. led the way with 17 points while Keonte Jones posted a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds to go with four assists, three blocks and three steals. Both Adams and Jones were named to the Stew Morrill Classic All-Tournament Team.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The Matadors missed their first five shots to begin the game but remained with striking distance. Adams nailed the Matadors' first field goal, a shot from 3-point range, at the 16:40 mark of the first period to pull CSUN to within 4-3. The Matadors would finally get going on the offensive end, producing a 8-0 run to take an 11-7 lead on a Grady Lewis basket at the 13:13 mark. The Grizzlies answered with an 8-1 run before CSUN countered with its own 6-0 spurt as Jones put the Matadors on top 18-15. CSUN held a 20-19 edge with 7:18 left on the clock before missing six consecutive shots during a key stretch. The Matadors, who shot 29.7 percent in the first half, went without a point for four minutes while Montana executed a 9-0 run to take a 28-20 edge with 3:57 left. Jones finally ended the scoring drought with a three, but Montana maintained a lead for the remainder of the half. Scotty Washington closed the period with a late basket, pulling CSUN to within 33-27 at intermission.
CSUN closed the gap to 33-29 on a basket from Lewis to begin the second half, but the Grizzlies scored the next five points. The Matadors continued to chip away at the deficit, pulling to within 40-35 on two free throws from Jones before Montana turned the tide with a 6-0 run. Malik Moore nailed a three, one of six Griz threes in the second half, to stretch the lead to 50-39 with 11:15 left to play. PJ Fuller II stopped the Montana momentum with a three while Adams and Jones followed with baskets to again pull CSUN within four at 50-46. However, Montana quickly answered with a three from Kai Johnson, which led to an eventual 7-0 run that stretched the lead to 60-48. Montana caught fire from the field, making six consecutive shots, highlighted by threes from Moore and Johnson for the team's biggest lead at 75-60 with 3:15 left to play.
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The Matadors looked up at a 79-64 deficit with 1:48 left to play but showed little quit in the final moments as CSUN went on a furious rally to end the game. Fuller completed a traditional three-point play followed by a Jones steal and basket to cut the gap to 10. Judson Martindale drilled a three and later knocked down three free throws in the final seconds, pulling CSUN to within eight, but time was not on its side as the Grizzlies held on for the win.
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NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN drops to 5-2 overall while Montana improves to 5-3 on the season.
- The Grizzlies won the Stew Morrill Classic with a 3-0 record while CSUN finished 2-1.
- CSUN shot 38.5 percent for the night, thanks in large part to 46.3 percent shooting in the second half. The Matadors made 9-of-14 free throws (64.3 percent) and 6-of-25 free throws (24.0 percent) while the Grizzlies shot 41.5 percent overall to go with 10-of-28 shooting from three (35.7 percent) and 29-of-37 shooting at the free throw line (78.4 percent).
- The Matadors were out-rebounded for just the second time this season at 44-41.
- In points in the paint, CSUN had a 44-24 edge.
- Fuller also finished in double figures for CSUN with 12 points to go with four assists. Lewis added nine points and seven rebounds while Martindale chipped in with eight points off the bench.
ACCORDING TO COACH SCOTT CUTLEY
"Montana did a great job of packing the paint and shots were not falling. We were getting open looks in the beginning and they weren't going in. That built the momentum for Montana. They were able to get down hill, get some shots and in the second half, they were also making some contested threes. There were some breakdowns defensively by us where they were making some uncontested threes. Hats off to them, they played a great and came in with a great game plan. Just bad luck on our end for not making shots when we needed to."
UP NEXT
CSUN closes its road trip on Saturday afternoon against Montana State. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. on ESPN+ while an audio broadcast will be available at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
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#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
CSUN
Mont
FG%
.385
.415
3FG%
.240
.357
FT%
.643
.784
RB
41
44
TO
11
17
STL
9
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF/C
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
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