Thursday, February 15
Bakersfield, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
17-9,8-6Big West
76
at
71
Cal State Bakersfield
10-15,5-9Big West
1
2
F
CSUN
42
34
76
CSU Bakersfield
29
42
71
Photo by: Connor Clark
CSUN Pulls Out Tough 76-71 Decision at Bakersfield
2/15/2024 10:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BAKERSFIELD, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball won its fourth-straight game with a wire-to-wire 76-71 win over Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday evening at the Icardo Center. Dionte Bostick scored a season-high 27 points to go with four steals while De'Sean Allen-Eikens had 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting. The Matadors have now won 17 games for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN jumped on Bakersfield in the early going with an 8-2 run. The 'Runners pulled to within two but an 8-0 run, capped by a Bryan Ndjonga three pushed the lead to double digits at 16-6. The Matadors received three shots from downtown from Ndjonga in the first half while Dionte Bostick led the way with 13 points in the period. A steal from Bostick led to a Giannit Hunt layup with 5:18 left to play. Bostick picked up a traditional three-point play then a shot from behind the 3-point arc for a 39-27 lead with under two minutes to play. Tom Mark picked up a late basket from CSUB, but Ndjonga drilled a three to beat the halftime buzzer as CSUN led 42-29 after 20 minutes.
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Out of intermission, the Roadrunners scored the first five points before Allen-Eikens answered with four points of his own. Bostick helped push the lead to 51-38 on a layup following a steal. CSUB though did not go away quietly as an 8-1 run pulled the home team to within 55-49 with 12:46 left to play. With 31 fouls called in the second half alone, each side earned their way to the free throw line with regularity in the period. The Roadrunners would make six in a row at the free throw line to pull to within 57-55 with under 11 minutes to play. CSUB pulled to as little as one point at 59-58, but the Matadors received a timely three from Bostick to slow the uprising. CSUN earned its way to the free throw line to push the lead to five then Allen-Eikens scored on a feed from Mahmoud Fofana for a 67-60 lead.
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After baskets from Allen-Eikens and Fofana, the Roadrunners made one last push, pulling to within 73-71 on a Corey Stephenson jumper with 2:19 left to play. However, CSUN would not allow Bakersfield to score again in the closing moments. The Matadors withstood a pair of late attempts in the final minute including a potential go-ahead three from Dalph Panopio before securing a key defensive rebound courtesy of Fofana. CSUN made three late free throws and forced a key turnover to seal the win.
NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"It's the character of this team. When things aren't going their way, they're able to pull through, which is something that we didn't have early. We've kind of built that into this thing. It's really a credit to our guys, what they're built from and how competitive they are and how bad they want to win for each other. It's a really fun team to coach."
UP NEXT
CSUN returns home to face Long Beach State on Saturday at 5 p.m. on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call.
#GoMatadors
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HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN jumped on Bakersfield in the early going with an 8-2 run. The 'Runners pulled to within two but an 8-0 run, capped by a Bryan Ndjonga three pushed the lead to double digits at 16-6. The Matadors received three shots from downtown from Ndjonga in the first half while Dionte Bostick led the way with 13 points in the period. A steal from Bostick led to a Giannit Hunt layup with 5:18 left to play. Bostick picked up a traditional three-point play then a shot from behind the 3-point arc for a 39-27 lead with under two minutes to play. Tom Mark picked up a late basket from CSUB, but Ndjonga drilled a three to beat the halftime buzzer as CSUN led 42-29 after 20 minutes.
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Came to play tonight!@BryanNdjonga buries his third triple of the first half.
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) February 16, 2024
At the end of 20 minutes, CSUN leads 42-29.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/2Cly58JI7P
Out of intermission, the Roadrunners scored the first five points before Allen-Eikens answered with four points of his own. Bostick helped push the lead to 51-38 on a layup following a steal. CSUB though did not go away quietly as an 8-1 run pulled the home team to within 55-49 with 12:46 left to play. With 31 fouls called in the second half alone, each side earned their way to the free throw line with regularity in the period. The Roadrunners would make six in a row at the free throw line to pull to within 57-55 with under 11 minutes to play. CSUB pulled to as little as one point at 59-58, but the Matadors received a timely three from Bostick to slow the uprising. CSUN earned its way to the free throw line to push the lead to five then Allen-Eikens scored on a feed from Mahmoud Fofana for a 67-60 lead.
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A beautiful play gets @DeseanEikens up to 19 points.
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) February 16, 2024
CSUN leads by seven with under 7:00 to play. #GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/Lccgd3aDOM
After baskets from Allen-Eikens and Fofana, the Roadrunners made one last push, pulling to within 73-71 on a Corey Stephenson jumper with 2:19 left to play. However, CSUN would not allow Bakersfield to score again in the closing moments. The Matadors withstood a pair of late attempts in the final minute including a potential go-ahead three from Dalph Panopio before securing a key defensive rebound courtesy of Fofana. CSUN made three late free throws and forced a key turnover to seal the win.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN improves to 17-9 overall and 8-6 in Big West play while Cal State Bakersfield falls to 10-15 overall and 5-9 in conference.
- The Matadors shot 57.8 percent for the night while making 7-of-14 from three (50.0 percent) and 17-of-25 from the free throw line (68.0 percent). CSUB was held to 35.8 percent shooting while the team made 6-of-19 from three (31.6 percent) and 27-of-32 at the free throw line (84.4 percent).
- The Roadrunners won the rebound battle 34-29.
- CSUN led in points in the paint, 36-12.
- Bryan Ndjonga chipped in with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from three off the bench. Mahmoud Fofana had nine points and five rebounds.
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"It's the character of this team. When things aren't going their way, they're able to pull through, which is something that we didn't have early. We've kind of built that into this thing. It's really a credit to our guys, what they're built from and how competitive they are and how bad they want to win for each other. It's a really fun team to coach."
UP NEXT
CSUN returns home to face Long Beach State on Saturday at 5 p.m. on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call.
#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
CSUN
CSUB
FG%
.578
.358
3FG%
.500
.316
FT%
.680
.844
RB
29
34
TO
13
11
STL
7
6
Game Leaders
Pts
27
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
9
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
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