Saturday, February 10
Santa Barbara, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
16-9,7-6Big West
82
at
74
UC Santa Barbara
13-10,6-7Big West
1
2
F
CSUN
39
43
82
UC Santa Barbara
31
43
74
Photo by: Connor Clark
CSUN Downs UCSB on the Road, 82-74
2/10/2024 9:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SANTA BARBARA, Calif.---Five scored in double figures led by De'Sean Allen-Eikens' 20 points as CSUN Men's Basketball went on the road and picked up an 82-74 win over defending Big West champion UC Santa Barbara on Saturday evening at the Thunderdome. Dionte Bostick added 18 points while Gianni Hunt chipped in with 15 points and six rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After surrendering the first basket of the game, CSUN went on a 9-1 run to take the lead at the outset. Dearon Tucker would help start a 7-0 CSUN run with a basket while Gianni Hunt closed the string with a three for an 18-8 lead at the 12:01 mark of the first half. CSUN made four of its first five attempts from 3-point range as Hunt hit another from long range near the midway point of the period. After a pair of Mahmoud Fofana baskets in the paint, Keonte Jones drained a three to complete a 12-0 run for a CSUN 32-15 lead.
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Out of a timeout, the Gauchos scored the next seven points to pull to within 10, but Dionte Bostick and Tucker each scored baskets to extend the lead to 36-22. Down the stretch of the half, De'Sean Allen-Eikens hit another three for CSUN to push the lead to 13, however, the Gauchos closed the half scoring the final five points to pull to within 39-31 at intermission.
The Gauchos closed the lead to six at the start of the second half before Jones slowed the uprising with a traditional three-point play. Fofana would cap a 6-0 CSUN run with a dunk to stretch the lead to 52-39 with 15:41 left to play. CSUN also picked up five-straight points from Bostick including a strong finish in the paint for a 59-47 lead.
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UCSBÂ would make several pushes down the stretch, pulling to within single digits several times, but the Matadors had an answer each time. After Yohan Traore converted on a layup, Fofana answered on the other end for CSUN at the four-minute mark. Ajay Mitchell brought UCSB to within 75-68 before Jones went coast-to-coast for a layup with 2:08 on the clock. UCSBÂ eventually pulled to within 77-74 with a minute to play on back-to-back threes, however CSUN converted on five late free throws and gained a pair of pivotal defensive stops to secure a win.Â
NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"We're back. To come on the road and beat a team like this, you know you've really accomplished something. We are back to playing the way we know we can play. We had the right attitude we needed to come in here and win. We talked about it all week and we did what we needed to do."
UP NEXT
CSUN will return to action for another road test at Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday, Feb. 15. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#GoMatadors
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED
After surrendering the first basket of the game, CSUN went on a 9-1 run to take the lead at the outset. Dearon Tucker would help start a 7-0 CSUN run with a basket while Gianni Hunt closed the string with a three for an 18-8 lead at the 12:01 mark of the first half. CSUN made four of its first five attempts from 3-point range as Hunt hit another from long range near the midway point of the period. After a pair of Mahmoud Fofana baskets in the paint, Keonte Jones drained a three to complete a 12-0 run for a CSUN 32-15 lead.
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Keonte Jones buries the three to force a timeout.
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) February 11, 2024
Matadors already 4-of-5 from three!
CSUN 32, UCSB 15 - 1H | 7:11#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/tbcjn2FIJu
Out of a timeout, the Gauchos scored the next seven points to pull to within 10, but Dionte Bostick and Tucker each scored baskets to extend the lead to 36-22. Down the stretch of the half, De'Sean Allen-Eikens hit another three for CSUN to push the lead to 13, however, the Gauchos closed the half scoring the final five points to pull to within 39-31 at intermission.
The Gauchos closed the lead to six at the start of the second half before Jones slowed the uprising with a traditional three-point play. Fofana would cap a 6-0 CSUN run with a dunk to stretch the lead to 52-39 with 15:41 left to play. CSUN also picked up five-straight points from Bostick including a strong finish in the paint for a 59-47 lead.
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Okay Dionte.
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) February 11, 2024
What a finish for Dionte Bostick inside!#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/yk876DRFPK
UCSBÂ would make several pushes down the stretch, pulling to within single digits several times, but the Matadors had an answer each time. After Yohan Traore converted on a layup, Fofana answered on the other end for CSUN at the four-minute mark. Ajay Mitchell brought UCSB to within 75-68 before Jones went coast-to-coast for a layup with 2:08 on the clock. UCSBÂ eventually pulled to within 77-74 with a minute to play on back-to-back threes, however CSUN converted on five late free throws and gained a pair of pivotal defensive stops to secure a win.Â
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN improves to 16-9 overall and 7-6 in Big West play while UC Santa Barbara falls to 13-10 overall and 6-7 in conference.
- The Matadors shot 54.4 percent while going 6-of-15 from the three (40.0 percent) and 14-of-18 from the free throw line (77.8 percent). The Gauchos would shoot 43.6 percent for the night while making 8-of-27 from three (29.6 percent) and 18-of-21 from the free throw line (85.7 percent).
- CSUN out-rebounded UCSB 35-26 and led by a 50-28 margin in points in the paint.
- Keonte Jones also scored in double figures, pouring in 13 points and six rebounds while Mahmoud Fofana had 12 points and seven rebounds.
- CSUN's starting five accounted for 78 of the team's 82 points. Dearon Tucker scored the team's four bench points and added four rebounds.
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"We're back. To come on the road and beat a team like this, you know you've really accomplished something. We are back to playing the way we know we can play. We had the right attitude we needed to come in here and win. We talked about it all week and we did what we needed to do."
UP NEXT
CSUN will return to action for another road test at Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday, Feb. 15. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#GoMatadors
Â
Team Stats
CSUN
UCSB
FG%
.544
.436
3FG%
.400
.296
FT%
.778
.857
RB
35
26
TO
13
13
STL
5
9
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
18
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
C
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