Wednesday, March 13
Henderson, Nev.
8:30 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
19-14,9-11Big West
87
vs
84
UC Santa Barbara
16-15,9-11Big West
1
2
OT 1
F
CSUN
38
41
8
87
UC Santa Barbara
39
40
5
84
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Wins Thriller In OT Over UCSB to Advance to Big West Quarterfinals
3/13/2024 11:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HENDERSON, Nev.---CSUN Men's Basketball knocked out defending Big West Champion UC Santa Barbara 87-84 in overtime on Wednesday in a Big West first round game at the Dollar Loan Center. Keonte Jones scored a season-high 24 points to go with nine rebounds while De'Sean Allen-Eikens added 23 points.
Picked to not make the conference tournament prior to the season, CSUN defeated the preseason Big West favorite en route to notching the program's first tournament win since 2014.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN jumped to a 10-5 lead after making four of its first six shots to start. Out of the first media timeout, Jones made a driving layup through contact to extend to a seven-point lead then Jasman Sangha scored in the lane to complete a CSUN 12-0 run.
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The Gauchos though stormed back behind three-straight 3-pointers from Ajay Mitchell. Josh Pierre-Louis picked up a steal leading to basket on the other end before Yohan Traore made two free throws to cap a 13-0 run to put UCSB ahead 18-14. The teams traded leads for the remainder of the half as the Matadors took a 22-19 lead on a Dionte Bostick jumper before the Gauchos scored the next five points. UCSB held a slim 34-31 with under three minutes to play, but CSUN scored four-straight points. An Allen-Eikens three put CSUN ahead 38-36, however, the Gauchos hit three free throws late to lead 39-38 at the break.
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After a Mitchell basket early in the second half, CSUN posted a 10-0 run, capped by a Bostick layup to lead 50-41. The Gauchos took advantage of a pair of CSUN technical fouls to get back into the game at the free throw line. Cole Anderson nailed a three to even the game at 50-50, but CSUN scored eight in a row with Jones making a pair of drives to the hoop and Bostick throwing down a dunk.
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Jones hit a three to extend the lead to 61-52 with 11:18 to play, but the Gauchos battled back to within one after an 8-0 run. Jason Fontenet II gave UCSB a brief 70-69 lead, but Allen-Eikens countered with a thunderous dunk on the other end plus a foul.
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With 1:04 to play, Jones made a jumper to push the lead to 79-74. The Gauchos though picked up another three from Fontenet and two late free throws from Mitchell to send the game to overtime.
CSUN trailed early in OT but took back the lead on a Jones layup. The Matadors would hold the Gauchos without a field goal in the entire five-minute session while they picked up timely baskets from Bostick and Allen-Eikens to lead 85-80 with under a minute to play. UCSB hit four free throws to pull to within one, but Allen-Eikens nailed two late free throws to extend to an 87-84 lead with five seconds left. Ben Shtolzberg fired a last second three but it was off the mark.
NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"Today was a really hard-fought game. Two really talented teams throwing haymakers at each other, and credit to Santa Barbara, they made some great plays and great shots down the stretch. I thought we responded, and it was just fun basketball to be a part of. Games like that, you feel like you win them and lose them seven different times in the same game. I'm sure they feel the same way on their end. We're just very fortunate to come out on top, and looking forward to playing again tomorrow."
CSUN POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE
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UP NEXT
CSUN continues play at the Big West Championship with a quarterfinal game against third-seeded Hawai'i on Thursday at 6 p.m.
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#GoMatadors
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Picked to not make the conference tournament prior to the season, CSUN defeated the preseason Big West favorite en route to notching the program's first tournament win since 2014.
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN jumped to a 10-5 lead after making four of its first six shots to start. Out of the first media timeout, Jones made a driving layup through contact to extend to a seven-point lead then Jasman Sangha scored in the lane to complete a CSUN 12-0 run.
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A 12-0 CSUN RUN!@JasmanSangha_ with the latest. We've held UCSB without a point for over the last 5:00.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/UABJ7pgXPH
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) March 14, 2024
The Gauchos though stormed back behind three-straight 3-pointers from Ajay Mitchell. Josh Pierre-Louis picked up a steal leading to basket on the other end before Yohan Traore made two free throws to cap a 13-0 run to put UCSB ahead 18-14. The teams traded leads for the remainder of the half as the Matadors took a 22-19 lead on a Dionte Bostick jumper before the Gauchos scored the next five points. UCSB held a slim 34-31 with under three minutes to play, but CSUN scored four-straight points. An Allen-Eikens three put CSUN ahead 38-36, however, the Gauchos hit three free throws late to lead 39-38 at the break.
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After a Mitchell basket early in the second half, CSUN posted a 10-0 run, capped by a Bostick layup to lead 50-41. The Gauchos took advantage of a pair of CSUN technical fouls to get back into the game at the free throw line. Cole Anderson nailed a three to even the game at 50-50, but CSUN scored eight in a row with Jones making a pair of drives to the hoop and Bostick throwing down a dunk.
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Turning up on his birthday. ??@Jelly_Keonte has five straight points to put CSUN ahead 56-50.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/AUBg8sUbSt
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) March 14, 2024
Jones hit a three to extend the lead to 61-52 with 11:18 to play, but the Gauchos battled back to within one after an 8-0 run. Jason Fontenet II gave UCSB a brief 70-69 lead, but Allen-Eikens countered with a thunderous dunk on the other end plus a foul.
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HELLO #SCTop10 ??@DeseanEikens with the massive dunk in a crucial moment. And one.#GoMatadors x @ESPNAssignDesk pic.twitter.com/a7DXzVoVdS
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) March 14, 2024
With 1:04 to play, Jones made a jumper to push the lead to 79-74. The Gauchos though picked up another three from Fontenet and two late free throws from Mitchell to send the game to overtime.
CSUN trailed early in OT but took back the lead on a Jones layup. The Matadors would hold the Gauchos without a field goal in the entire five-minute session while they picked up timely baskets from Bostick and Allen-Eikens to lead 85-80 with under a minute to play. UCSB hit four free throws to pull to within one, but Allen-Eikens nailed two late free throws to extend to an 87-84 lead with five seconds left. Ben Shtolzberg fired a last second three but it was off the mark.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN improves to 19-14 overall while UC Santa Barbara falls to 16-15.
- The Matadors snapped a seven-game losing streak in Big West tournament games, dating back to the championship game in 2014.
- CSUN shot 46.8 percent while making 8-of-19 threes (42.1 percent) and 21-of-34 free throws (61.8 percent). UCSB shot 38.7 percent while hitting 8-of-27 threes (29.6 percent) and 28-of-37 free throws (75.7 percent).
- There were 17 lead changes and nine ties.
- The Matadors also won the rebounding battle, 43-41.
- Bostick finished with 18 points and six assists while Gianni Hunt had 11 points in 23 minutes.
- UCSB's Mitchell had a game-high 36 points.
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"Today was a really hard-fought game. Two really talented teams throwing haymakers at each other, and credit to Santa Barbara, they made some great plays and great shots down the stretch. I thought we responded, and it was just fun basketball to be a part of. Games like that, you feel like you win them and lose them seven different times in the same game. I'm sure they feel the same way on their end. We're just very fortunate to come out on top, and looking forward to playing again tomorrow."
CSUN POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE
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UP NEXT
CSUN continues play at the Big West Championship with a quarterfinal game against third-seeded Hawai'i on Thursday at 6 p.m.
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#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
CSUN
UCSB
FG%
.468
.387
3FG%
.421
.296
FT%
.618
.757
RB
43
41
TO
11
12
STL
6
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
23
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
11
Pts
18
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
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F/C
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