Saturday, February 3
Northridge, Calif.
5:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
14-9,5-6Big West
76
vs
70
UC Riverside
8-15,3-8Big West
1
2
F
UC Riverside
32
38
70
CSUN
26
50
76
Photo by: Connor Clark
CSUN Snaps Skid with 76-70 Win Over UC Riverside
2/3/2024 8:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball got back into the win column with a 76-70 victory over UC Riverside at Premier America Credit Union Arena on Saturday. De'Sean Allen-Eikens scored a team-high 26 points while Gianni Hunt poured in a career-high 21 points to go with 5-of-9 shooting from three. The Matadors would trail by as many as 12 points in the first half before storming back to go in front in the second half en route to ending a five-game skid.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Highlanders got out of the blocks quickly with a 9-0 run at the start. CSUN would score the next five in a row, but Isaiah Moses hit back-to-back jumpers to push the lead to 13-5. The Matadors though countered with an 8-0 run as Keonte Jones evened the game up on a traditional 3-point play at the 12:09 mark. UCR would post an 11-0 spurt, extending the lead to the biggest of the night at 27-15 with 5:46 on the clock. The Matadors went over seven minutes with a point before Dionte Bostick ended the drought with a three. Gianni Hunt followed suit with consecutive threes to close the gap to 29-24 with 1:36 on the clock. Kaleb Smith slowed the uprising with a 3-pointer before De'Sean Allen-Eikens closed the half with a basket to pull CSUN to within 32-26. Despite a hot start, UCR was held to 27.5 percent shooting in the opening stanza while CSUN slightly had a better percentage at 32.1.
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The Matadors scored the first four points to open the second period to pull to within 32-30. After a Barrington Hargress jumper, Mahmoud Fofana and Bryan Ndjonga each scored in the paint to nod the game at 34-34.
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CSUN would finally take its first lead (38-37) at the 14:40 mark of the second half when Hunt buried another three after a feed from Ndjonga. The Highlanders though went back in front moments later, and after a 7-0 run built a 44-38 advantage with 12:37 left to play. However, from then on, CSUN's defense would take over as UCR missed its next 11 shot attempts. Meanwhile, CSUN went on a 14-1 run, capped by an Allen-Eikens basket. The Highlanders hit a pair at the free throw line to pull to within five, but a Jasman Sangha field goal and another Hunt three extended the lead to 57-47 with 5:19 to go.
UCR closed the gap to seven at 64-57 before Bostick drained a three right back to push the lead back to double-digits. The Highlanders made one final push in the final minute, pulling to as little as five, but CSUN made five free throws in the final 60 seconds to maintain the lead.
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NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"The first 10 minutes of that game was a struggle, but it was good to see our guys fight through it and get back on the winning track here. We just played great defense in the second half. It's something we haven't been doing in the past. We're back to our ways now so hopefully we can grow on that."
UP NEXT
CSUN stays at home to take on Cal Poly on Thursday (Feb. 8) at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The Highlanders got out of the blocks quickly with a 9-0 run at the start. CSUN would score the next five in a row, but Isaiah Moses hit back-to-back jumpers to push the lead to 13-5. The Matadors though countered with an 8-0 run as Keonte Jones evened the game up on a traditional 3-point play at the 12:09 mark. UCR would post an 11-0 spurt, extending the lead to the biggest of the night at 27-15 with 5:46 on the clock. The Matadors went over seven minutes with a point before Dionte Bostick ended the drought with a three. Gianni Hunt followed suit with consecutive threes to close the gap to 29-24 with 1:36 on the clock. Kaleb Smith slowed the uprising with a 3-pointer before De'Sean Allen-Eikens closed the half with a basket to pull CSUN to within 32-26. Despite a hot start, UCR was held to 27.5 percent shooting in the opening stanza while CSUN slightly had a better percentage at 32.1.
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On the HUNT.
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) February 4, 2024
Gianni is up to 11 points (3-6 3FG) as CSUN cuts the deficit to five.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/KowA1ukanZ
The Matadors scored the first four points to open the second period to pull to within 32-30. After a Barrington Hargress jumper, Mahmoud Fofana and Bryan Ndjonga each scored in the paint to nod the game at 34-34.
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Transition to tie it. @BryanNdjonga caps an 8-2 run to open the second half.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/snP6M63reI
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) February 4, 2024
CSUN would finally take its first lead (38-37) at the 14:40 mark of the second half when Hunt buried another three after a feed from Ndjonga. The Highlanders though went back in front moments later, and after a 7-0 run built a 44-38 advantage with 12:37 left to play. However, from then on, CSUN's defense would take over as UCR missed its next 11 shot attempts. Meanwhile, CSUN went on a 14-1 run, capped by an Allen-Eikens basket. The Highlanders hit a pair at the free throw line to pull to within five, but a Jasman Sangha field goal and another Hunt three extended the lead to 57-47 with 5:19 to go.
UCR closed the gap to seven at 64-57 before Bostick drained a three right back to push the lead back to double-digits. The Highlanders made one final push in the final minute, pulling to as little as five, but CSUN made five free throws in the final 60 seconds to maintain the lead.
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DAGGER.@iBostickDionte knocks down the triple from the wing and CSUN leads by 10 with just over two minutes to play.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/DlcFM2VinX
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) February 4, 2024
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN improves to 14-9 overall and 5-6 in Big West play while UC Riverside slips to 8-15 overall and 3-8 in conference.
- The Matadors shot 45.5 percent for the night while going 8-of-25 from three (32.0 percent) and 18-of-25 from the free throw line (64.3 percent). The Highlanders were held to 28.9 percent shooting to go with going 10-of-39 from three (25.6 percent) and 16-of-19 from the free throw line (84.2 percent).
- Each side had 45 rebounds in the contest.
- CSUN outscored UCR 32-14 in points in the paint.
- Dionte Bostick also scored in double figures, finishing with 11 points.
- Keonte Jones had a team-high 12 rebounds to go with seven points, four assists and two blocks.
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"The first 10 minutes of that game was a struggle, but it was good to see our guys fight through it and get back on the winning track here. We just played great defense in the second half. It's something we haven't been doing in the past. We're back to our ways now so hopefully we can grow on that."
UP NEXT
CSUN stays at home to take on Cal Poly on Thursday (Feb. 8) at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
UCR
CSUN
FG%
.289
.455
3FG%
.256
.320
FT%
.842
.643
RB
45
45
TO
8
12
STL
6
3
Game Leaders
Pts
26
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
21
FGM
6
3FGM
5
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F/C
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