Wednesday, November 6
Syracuse, N.Y.
4:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
1-1,0-0Big West
97
at
75
Le Moyne
0-2,0-0NEC
1
2
F
CSUN
48
49
97
Le Moyne
43
32
75
CSUN Collects First Win of the Season Behind Balanced Scoring Attack
11/6/2024 6:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y.---Behind five scoring in double figures, CSUN Men's Basketball earned its first win of the season with a 97-75 victory over Le Moyne at Ted Grant Court. Marcus Adams Jr. and Scotty Washington each finished with a game-high 21 points while Keonte Jones registered a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds. Mahmoud Fofana and Judson Martindale chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The Matadors' 97 points are their most against a Division I opponent since Feb. 29, 2020 when CSUN scored 99 against Cal State Fullerton.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Grady Lewis got the Matador offense started with back-to-back layups before Adams followed with five in a row of his own as the score was even at 9-9 through three minutes. The story of the first half would be CSUN scoring with regularity in the paint with the Matadors outscoring the Dolphins 26-2 in the first period. After falling behind 13-12, Festus Ndumanya scored in the lane to put the Matadors back on top. Washington soon drilled a 3-pointer near the midway point of the first half, and he later added a driving layup after a Jones steal to extend the CSUN lead to 23-16.
The Dolphins though remained close behind 26 trips to the free throw line with 20 makes. After four consecutive makes from the charity stripe, Le Moyne pulled to within 23-20, but CSUN answered with a 9-0 run capped by a Fofana three-point play. Adams poured in 15 points in the first half including a long jumper at the four-minute mark for a CSUN 39-27 lead. The Matadors held on to a 46-34 lead following an Adams layup, but the Dolphins closed the first half on a 9-2 run, capped by a halfcourt three from Trent Mosquera at the buzzer to cut the lead to 48-43.
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Le Moyne pulled to within 52-49 out of intermission, but CSUN quickly responded with a 6-0 spurt as Adams closed the run with a three. The Matador run extended with a Tyler Beard three and three-straight free throws from Washington to extend the lead to double digits. Washington added two more threes with his second coming off a Martindale block for a 72-56 advantage with 11:53 on the clock.
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CSUN held Le Moyne to 30.0 percent shooting in the second half while the Matador offense continued to flourish down the stretch. The Matadors led by double digits the rest of the way, eventually building a 21-point lead on a layup from PJ Fuller II with 5:46 remaining. Le Moyne would not get any closer than 19 points for the remainder of the contest as Martindale punctuated a 49-point CSUN second half with back-to-back buckets inside two minutes to play.
NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"To see our guys settle in and compete like they did today, that's what we expected, what we recruited and what we've been working on. We out-rebounded them by 16 and we held them under 34 percent. Our defense was great and our rebounding was great.
"We felt like we need to establish who we are and that's right at the rim. I've always felt this way. I feel like good teams start at the rim and they work their way out. That was a concerted effort to go at the rim, get some post touches and set up some penetrations to get to the rim, and that will open up outside shooting. That was a part of the game plan, attack them inside, we knew they were a little thin inside. It was great to see Grady step up and set the tone for us."
UP NEXT
CSUN will play its home opener next Wednesday, Nov. 13 against Nobel University at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN+ with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call.
#GoMatadors
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The Matadors' 97 points are their most against a Division I opponent since Feb. 29, 2020 when CSUN scored 99 against Cal State Fullerton.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Grady Lewis got the Matador offense started with back-to-back layups before Adams followed with five in a row of his own as the score was even at 9-9 through three minutes. The story of the first half would be CSUN scoring with regularity in the paint with the Matadors outscoring the Dolphins 26-2 in the first period. After falling behind 13-12, Festus Ndumanya scored in the lane to put the Matadors back on top. Washington soon drilled a 3-pointer near the midway point of the first half, and he later added a driving layup after a Jones steal to extend the CSUN lead to 23-16.
The Dolphins though remained close behind 26 trips to the free throw line with 20 makes. After four consecutive makes from the charity stripe, Le Moyne pulled to within 23-20, but CSUN answered with a 9-0 run capped by a Fofana three-point play. Adams poured in 15 points in the first half including a long jumper at the four-minute mark for a CSUN 39-27 lead. The Matadors held on to a 46-34 lead following an Adams layup, but the Dolphins closed the first half on a 9-2 run, capped by a halfcourt three from Trent Mosquera at the buzzer to cut the lead to 48-43.
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Marcus Adams is heating up ????
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) November 7, 2024
Up to 13 points. #GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/a1MrXh4Z40
Le Moyne pulled to within 52-49 out of intermission, but CSUN quickly responded with a 6-0 spurt as Adams closed the run with a three. The Matador run extended with a Tyler Beard three and three-straight free throws from Washington to extend the lead to double digits. Washington added two more threes with his second coming off a Martindale block for a 72-56 advantage with 11:53 on the clock.
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After the Judson Martindale block, Scotty Washington buries the corner 3?
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) November 7, 2024
CSUN up by 16 at Le Moyne.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/YCsGPVFnIz
CSUN held Le Moyne to 30.0 percent shooting in the second half while the Matador offense continued to flourish down the stretch. The Matadors led by double digits the rest of the way, eventually building a 21-point lead on a layup from PJ Fuller II with 5:46 remaining. Le Moyne would not get any closer than 19 points for the remainder of the contest as Martindale punctuated a 49-point CSUN second half with back-to-back buckets inside two minutes to play.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN improves to 1-1 on the season while Le Moyne falls to 0-2.
- The Matadors shot 55.0 percent for the night while going 8-of-18 from three (44.4 percent) and 23-of-33 at the free throw line (69.7 percent). Le Moyne was held to 32.1 percent shooting from the field to go with 11-of-36 makes from three (30.6 percent) and 30-of-40 makes at the free throw line (75.0 percent).
- On the glass, CSUN out-rebounded Le Moyne by a 45-29 margin.
- The Matadors outscored the Dolphins 42-8 in points in the paint.
- Adams' 21 points were scored off the bench while his scoring total was a career high.
- Nine different Matadors scored points in the game.
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"To see our guys settle in and compete like they did today, that's what we expected, what we recruited and what we've been working on. We out-rebounded them by 16 and we held them under 34 percent. Our defense was great and our rebounding was great.
"We felt like we need to establish who we are and that's right at the rim. I've always felt this way. I feel like good teams start at the rim and they work their way out. That was a concerted effort to go at the rim, get some post touches and set up some penetrations to get to the rim, and that will open up outside shooting. That was a part of the game plan, attack them inside, we knew they were a little thin inside. It was great to see Grady step up and set the tone for us."
UP NEXT
CSUN will play its home opener next Wednesday, Nov. 13 against Nobel University at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN+ with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call.
#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
CSUN
LeM
FG%
.550
.321
3FG%
.444
.306
FT%
.697
.750
RB
45
29
TO
14
15
STL
7
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F/C
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG/F
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