Monday, November 3
Northridge, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
1-0,0-0Big West
99
vs
58
Nobel University
0-1
1
2
F
Nobel
22
36
58
CSUN
48
51
99
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Spreads Wealth in Opening Night Win Over Nobel
11/3/2025 10:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---Five Matadors scored in double figures and 11 total reached the scoring column as CSUN Men's Basketball posted a wire-to-wire 99-58 victory over Nobel University in the 2025-26 season opener on Monday at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Joshua O'Garro filled up the stat sheet, posting 20 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks while Aleks Szymczyk notched his first career double-double with 15 points and 16 rebounds in the victory.Â
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a 2-2 start, the Matadors went on a 15-0 run to take control of the game with Szymczyk closing the run on a dunk, set up by James Evans Jr. CSUN made seven threes in the first half alone, using Davius Loury and Evans triples to build a 23-4 lead at the 12:04 mark of the first half. The lead grew past 20 points when Larry Hughes II drained another three for a 37-14 lead with 7:13 left on the clock. Greg Gazarian scored his first career point at the free throw line, extending the lead to 23 while Evans knocked down a long range shot to beat the halftime buzzer for a 48-22 advantage at the break.Â
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CSUN opened the second half with an 8-1 run, quickly building a 56-23 advantage following a Hughes three. At the 11:44 mark, Josiah Davis set up a second chance opportunity for Mahmoud Fofana to extend to a 70-32 lead while Davis later hit the scoring column himself, benefiting from a steal by Loury for a layup at the 10:41 mark. Back-to-back layups from Szymczyk and Evans near the seven-minute mark extended the lead to 50 at 86-36. Evans would throw down a highlight reel dunk with 3:27 left to play, set up by Loury while the closing moments saw Robert Thibiant make a driving layup to wrap up the scoring in a 41-point victory.Â
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NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"It's great to see these guys get out and get after it. You never know when you're out there for 61 practices and playing against yourself. It's good to get a new team in front of you, to see what the guys have in front of a crowd. It's just a different atmosphere than in practice."
UP NEXT
CSUN hits the road for the first time this season to take on the Northern Iowa on Thursday 5 p.m. PT on ESPN. Ghizal Hasan will have the call in an audio broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio and the Varsity app.Â
#GoMatadors
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a 2-2 start, the Matadors went on a 15-0 run to take control of the game with Szymczyk closing the run on a dunk, set up by James Evans Jr. CSUN made seven threes in the first half alone, using Davius Loury and Evans triples to build a 23-4 lead at the 12:04 mark of the first half. The lead grew past 20 points when Larry Hughes II drained another three for a 37-14 lead with 7:13 left on the clock. Greg Gazarian scored his first career point at the free throw line, extending the lead to 23 while Evans knocked down a long range shot to beat the halftime buzzer for a 48-22 advantage at the break.Â
Â
Ending the first half with a bang. ??
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) November 4, 2025
Davis -- O'Garro -- Evans Jr. for the corner triple.
CSUN's up 48-22 at the break.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/QhcjS5bJHZ
CSUN opened the second half with an 8-1 run, quickly building a 56-23 advantage following a Hughes three. At the 11:44 mark, Josiah Davis set up a second chance opportunity for Mahmoud Fofana to extend to a 70-32 lead while Davis later hit the scoring column himself, benefiting from a steal by Loury for a layup at the 10:41 mark. Back-to-back layups from Szymczyk and Evans near the seven-minute mark extended the lead to 50 at 86-36. Evans would throw down a highlight reel dunk with 3:27 left to play, set up by Loury while the closing moments saw Robert Thibiant make a driving layup to wrap up the scoring in a 41-point victory.Â
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In his CSUN debut, Aleks Szymczyk has 15 points and 16 rebounds. ??#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/MQHVlOBeI4
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) November 4, 2025
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN moves to 1-0 on the season while Nobel stays at 1-1 as the game was played as an exhibition for the Knights.Â
- The Matadors shot 42.3 percent for the night while going 11-of-29 from three (37.9 percent) and 22-of-31 at the free throw line (71.0 percent).
- CSUN out-rebounded Nobel 60-35 in the contest. The Matadors also had a sizable lead in points in the paint at 42-20.Â
- O'Garro recorded five blocks, the most by a Matador in a game since Lamine Diane in 2020.Â
- Hughes finished with 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting in his Matador debut while Fofana and Evans had 10 points apiece.Â
- Davis had a team-high eight assists to go with seven points and five rebounds.Â
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"It's great to see these guys get out and get after it. You never know when you're out there for 61 practices and playing against yourself. It's good to get a new team in front of you, to see what the guys have in front of a crowd. It's just a different atmosphere than in practice."
UP NEXT
CSUN hits the road for the first time this season to take on the Northern Iowa on Thursday 5 p.m. PT on ESPN. Ghizal Hasan will have the call in an audio broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio and the Varsity app.Â
#GoMatadors
Â
Team Stats
NOBEL
CSUN
FG%
.304
.423
3FG%
.211
.379
FT%
.645
.710
RB
35
60
TO
20
15
STL
7
10
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's Basketball
G
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