Thursday, February 29
Northridge, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
18-12,9-9Big West
64
vs
89
UC Irvine
21-8,14-3Big West
1
2
F
UC Irvine
47
42
89
CSUN
26
38
64
Photo by: Connor Clark
CSUN Drops Home Decision to UC Irvine
2/29/2024 10:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball fell to first-place UC Irvine 89-64 on Thursday evening at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Dionte Bostick led CSUN in scoring with 20 points o 8-of-12 shooting while Gianni Hunt added 17 points and three assists. The Anteaters would take control at the start, building an early double-digit lead and never look back in the contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN would take an early 3-2 lead on a Mahmoud Fofana three-point play, but the Matadors went without a field goal for nearly the next five minutes. Meanwhile, the Anteaters scored on their first seven possessions to start in building a 16-4 lead. De'Sean Allen-Eikens finally ended the drought with a jumper, however, Derin Saran answered with a three for UCI. Hunt brought CSUN to within 24-9 near the midway point of the first half, but the Anteaters had another answer with Dylan Thoerner nailing a three. Justin Hohn later extended the lead to 33-13 on a three of his own with 6:47 on the clock. After CSUN fought back to within 33-18, UCI completed an 11-2 run to stretch the lead past 20 points. Bostick closed the half with a late basket, pulling the Matadors to within 47-26 at intermission.
After another slow start for CSUN in the second half, the deficit swelled to 60-32. CSUN though continued to battle and soon put together an 8-0 run, highlighted by threes from Hunt and Bostick, to pull to within 65-47. However, CSUN never got closer for the remainder of the night. The Anteaters went on a 13-2 run, capped by a basket by Pierre Crockrell II to put the game out of reach. UC Irvine led by as many as 29 points in the second half in securing a road win over CSUN.
NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"One of our worst games in a while. We just played badly on both ends. They came out and scored on us on the first seven possessions and then we couldn't score. With the shots we did get, we had some shots at the rim and didn't convert. Not a very good performance on either side."
UP NEXT
CSUN hosts its final home game of the season on Saturday when the Matadors take on UC San Diego at 5 p.m. The Matadors will celebrate Senior Night as they will honor their three-member senior class before the game.
#GoMatadors
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HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN would take an early 3-2 lead on a Mahmoud Fofana three-point play, but the Matadors went without a field goal for nearly the next five minutes. Meanwhile, the Anteaters scored on their first seven possessions to start in building a 16-4 lead. De'Sean Allen-Eikens finally ended the drought with a jumper, however, Derin Saran answered with a three for UCI. Hunt brought CSUN to within 24-9 near the midway point of the first half, but the Anteaters had another answer with Dylan Thoerner nailing a three. Justin Hohn later extended the lead to 33-13 on a three of his own with 6:47 on the clock. After CSUN fought back to within 33-18, UCI completed an 11-2 run to stretch the lead past 20 points. Bostick closed the half with a late basket, pulling the Matadors to within 47-26 at intermission.
After another slow start for CSUN in the second half, the deficit swelled to 60-32. CSUN though continued to battle and soon put together an 8-0 run, highlighted by threes from Hunt and Bostick, to pull to within 65-47. However, CSUN never got closer for the remainder of the night. The Anteaters went on a 13-2 run, capped by a basket by Pierre Crockrell II to put the game out of reach. UC Irvine led by as many as 29 points in the second half in securing a road win over CSUN.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN falls to 18-12 overall and 9-9 in conference while UC Irvine improves to 21-8 overall and 14-3 in Big West play.
- The Matadors were held to 35.0 percent shooting to go with making 3-of-17 from three (17.6 percent) and hitting 19-of-34 from the free throw line (55.9 percent). On the flip side, the Anteaters soared to 48.4 percent shooting while connecting on 7-of-18 threes (38.9 percent) and 22-of-28 free throws (78.6 percent).
- UC Irvine also won the rebounding battle, 45-36.
- Keonte Jones finished with eight points and three rebounds while Allen-Eikens had seven points. Fofana and Hunt had seven rebounds apiece.
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"One of our worst games in a while. We just played badly on both ends. They came out and scored on us on the first seven possessions and then we couldn't score. With the shots we did get, we had some shots at the rim and didn't convert. Not a very good performance on either side."
UP NEXT
CSUN hosts its final home game of the season on Saturday when the Matadors take on UC San Diego at 5 p.m. The Matadors will celebrate Senior Night as they will honor their three-member senior class before the game.
#GoMatadors
Â
Team Stats
Irvine
CSUN
FG%
.484
.350
3FG%
.389
.176
FT%
.786
.559
RB
45
36
TO
15
16
STL
10
7
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
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