Thursday, January 16
Manoa, Hawaii
9:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
12-6,4-3Big West
83
at
60
Hawai'i
11-6,3-3Big West
1
2
F
CSUN
38
45
83
Hawaii
29
31
60
Photo by: Connor Clark
CSUN Rebounds with Road Win at Hawai'i, 83-60
1/16/2025 11:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HONOLULU---CSUN Men's Basketball snapped a two-game skid with a double-digit 83-60 victory at Hawai'i on Thursday at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Four Matadors scored in double figures with Scotty Washington leading the way with a game-high 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Marcus Adams Jr. chipped with 18 points while PJ Fuller II had 14 points and Keonte Jones posted 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The win at Hawai'i was CSUN's first since March 2, 2019, and their largest margin of victory against the team in school history.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In a rematch of last season's Big West quarterfinal game where Hawai'i came out on top, CSUN looked to gain a measure of revenge for the postseason defeat. The Bows though got off to a quick start, claiming an 8-2 lead on a Akira Jacobs layup. Jerome Palm later gave Hawai'i a 12-6 edge with 14:51 left in the first half before CSUN turned the tables. Fuller began a 13-2 run with a layup while Jones and Washington had four points each during the stretch. After a Hawai'i basket at the 7:13 mark, CSUN responded with six unanswered points as Jones drained a three for a 25-16 with under six minutes to go in the first half. Moments later, the Matadors would gain threes from Fuller and Washington as the lead swelled to double digits at 32-21. Hawai'i would battle back to within seven near the one-minute mark of the half, but Fuller gave the Matadors a bit momentum with a buzzer beating jumper for a CSUN 38-29 advantage at intermission.
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After surrendering the first field goal of the second half, CSUN countered with a 9-0 run, which was highlighted by a frantic sequence where Jones picked up an acrobatic offensive rebound while going out of bounds, leading to a Lewis basket as the lead grew to 47-31. Hawai'i inched closer to 53-39 on a pair of free throws, but the Matadors followed with an 8-0 run with Adams capping the run on a layup for a 61-39 lead with 11:15 left to play. From there, the Rainbow Warriors found their way to the free throw line, hitting six free throws in an 8-0 run of their own to pull to within 14 points. Fuller slowed the uprising with a jumper on a drive to the hoop, but Hawai'i scored the next four to pull closer at 65-53 with with 6:25 to play.
A Hawai'i comeback though was not in the cards. The Matadors soon squashed that rally with a timely three-point play from Washington. CSUN's junior caught fire from the field soon after, eventually scoring 13 consecutive Matador points to help put the game away. During the hot streak, Washington drilled back-to-back threes to suddenly extend the lead to 78-55 with 2:39 left on the clock. Moments later, Fuller scored in transition after an Adams steal to give CSUN its biggest lead of the night at 81-55. A Festus Ndumanya late hoop capped the scoring for CSUN with 21 seconds on the clock.
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NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"That was two games coming. Obviously, we didn't feel good after Irvine and then Bakersfield I thought we played really good, and to not have the result that we wanted, my heart felt for these guys. We then come to Hawai'i and to do something that not a lot of teams do. My first win as a coach here. A tremendous accomplishment for this program and these players to come here and do what they did tonight, and they really sent a message to the rest of this league."
UP NEXT
CSUN will return to competition next Thursday, Jan. 23 against Long Beach State inside Premier America Credit Union Arena at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call.
#GoMatadors
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The win at Hawai'i was CSUN's first since March 2, 2019, and their largest margin of victory against the team in school history.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In a rematch of last season's Big West quarterfinal game where Hawai'i came out on top, CSUN looked to gain a measure of revenge for the postseason defeat. The Bows though got off to a quick start, claiming an 8-2 lead on a Akira Jacobs layup. Jerome Palm later gave Hawai'i a 12-6 edge with 14:51 left in the first half before CSUN turned the tables. Fuller began a 13-2 run with a layup while Jones and Washington had four points each during the stretch. After a Hawai'i basket at the 7:13 mark, CSUN responded with six unanswered points as Jones drained a three for a 25-16 with under six minutes to go in the first half. Moments later, the Matadors would gain threes from Fuller and Washington as the lead swelled to double digits at 32-21. Hawai'i would battle back to within seven near the one-minute mark of the half, but Fuller gave the Matadors a bit momentum with a buzzer beating jumper for a CSUN 38-29 advantage at intermission.
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PJ Fuller II ends the first half in style!
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) January 17, 2025
CSUN up 9 at the break. #GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/hMmLZo5sJE
After surrendering the first field goal of the second half, CSUN countered with a 9-0 run, which was highlighted by a frantic sequence where Jones picked up an acrobatic offensive rebound while going out of bounds, leading to a Lewis basket as the lead grew to 47-31. Hawai'i inched closer to 53-39 on a pair of free throws, but the Matadors followed with an 8-0 run with Adams capping the run on a layup for a 61-39 lead with 11:15 left to play. From there, the Rainbow Warriors found their way to the free throw line, hitting six free throws in an 8-0 run of their own to pull to within 14 points. Fuller slowed the uprising with a jumper on a drive to the hoop, but Hawai'i scored the next four to pull closer at 65-53 with with 6:25 to play.
A Hawai'i comeback though was not in the cards. The Matadors soon squashed that rally with a timely three-point play from Washington. CSUN's junior caught fire from the field soon after, eventually scoring 13 consecutive Matador points to help put the game away. During the hot streak, Washington drilled back-to-back threes to suddenly extend the lead to 78-55 with 2:39 left on the clock. Moments later, Fuller scored in transition after an Adams steal to give CSUN its biggest lead of the night at 81-55. A Festus Ndumanya late hoop capped the scoring for CSUN with 21 seconds on the clock.
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Have a night, Scotty.
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) January 17, 2025
Washington up to 24 points after his third 3-pointer as CSUN is on the doorstep of a big road win. #GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/yeRvEjUh7v
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN improves to 12-6 overall and 4-3 in Big West play while Hawai'i slips to 11-6 overall and 3-3 in conference.
- The Matadors finished shooting 53.3 percent for the game while making 8-of-14 threes (57.1 percent) and 11-of-19 free throws (57.9 percent). The Rainbow Warriors shot 42.3 percent overall while going 3-of-20 from three (15.0 percent) and 13-of-18 from the free throw line (72.2 percent).
- In the rebounding department, CSUN led by a 40-25 margin. The Matadors also held a 24-9 edge in points off turnovers.
- Jones' double-double was his team-best ninth of the season.
- Washington finished 3-of-4 from 3-point range while Tyler Beard was 2-of-2 from three and finished with six points.
- Off the bench, Grady Lewis had seven rebounds and four points in just 13 minutes.
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"That was two games coming. Obviously, we didn't feel good after Irvine and then Bakersfield I thought we played really good, and to not have the result that we wanted, my heart felt for these guys. We then come to Hawai'i and to do something that not a lot of teams do. My first win as a coach here. A tremendous accomplishment for this program and these players to come here and do what they did tonight, and they really sent a message to the rest of this league."
UP NEXT
CSUN will return to competition next Thursday, Jan. 23 against Long Beach State inside Premier America Credit Union Arena at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call.
#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
CSUN
Hawaii
FG%
.533
.423
3FG%
.571
.150
FT%
.579
.722
RB
40
25
TO
11
14
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
18
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F/C
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG/F
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