CSUN Earns First Road Win of the Season at North Dakota, 93-85

GRAND FORKS, N.D.---CSUN Men's Basketball had four score in double figures as the Matadors held off a late charge for North Dakota in a 93-85 victory on Sunday at Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Josiah Davis scored a career-high 25 points to go with six assists while Larry Hughes II poured in a career-high 23 points with 6-of-7 shots made 3-point range. The Matadors led by as many as 15 points before keeping the Fighting Hawks down the stretch for their first road win of the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN spotted North Dakota the first five points before Hughes put the Matadors on the scoreboard at the 18:29 mark of the first period. UND took a 14-8 lead with 13:35 on the clock, but the Matadors scored the next four to pull to within two on a Davis layup. A 5-0 spurt would give the Matadors their first lead of the game with Hughes drilling a three for a 17-16 advantage. The score remained tight for most of the half with six total ties in the period before CSUN took control in the closing 2:45. The Matadors wrapped up the half on a 9-2 run, highlighted by a three from Aleks Szymczyk and a late basket from Davis to extend the lead to 44-37 at the break.

Hughes opened the second half with a three, giving the Matadors their first double-digit lead. Another trey from Hughes at the 17:22 mark followed by back-to-back baskets from Mahmoud Fofana and Davis put CSUN ahead by its biggest margin of the day at 57-42. Minutes later, CSUN led by 65-51 with 13:06 left to go, but UND began chipping away at the lead. A 6-1 run from the Fighting Hawks trimmed the lead to 68-62 before Davis earned his way to the line for two free throws. North Dakota responded though with a 6-0 run, making it a two-point game. UND later pulled to within one at 73-72, but Hughes made a timely three on the Matadors' next possession. The lead was once again cut to a point at 82-81 with 2:16 left to go, however, the Matadors received big baskets from Davis to stretch the lead to 86-81. An O'Garro layup in the final minute of action helped seal the road victory for CSUN.

NOTES OF THE GAME

CSUN improves to 2-1 on the season while North Dakota slips to 0-3.
The Matadors shot 55.0 percent from the floor while going 8-of-18 from three (44.4 percent) and 19-of-31 at the free throw line (61.3 percent). On the flip side, UND shot 47.7 percent overall to go with 8-of-29 shooting from three (27.6 percent) and 15-of-23 shooting at the free throw line (65.2 percent).
CSUN out-rebounded North Dakota 44-28 in the game and held a 48-40 advantage in points in the paint.
O'Garro posted his second double-double of the season at 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Szymczyk had 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting to go with four rebounds.
The game represented the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"We're a work in progress. Against Northern Iowa, we were good 30 percent of the game and bad the other 70. Today, we were more 60-40 good than bad. It was nice to see these guys get back to who they are on the boards and with the toughness and the physicality that we're used to playing with and it showed itself today."

UP NEXT
CSUN will travel to Fargo, N.D. to conclude its road trip as the Matadors visit North Dakota State on Tuesday at 5 p.m. PT on the Summit League Network. Ghizal Hasan will have the call in an audio broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio and the Varsity app.

#GoMatadors

CSUN Earns First Road Win of the Season at North Dakota, 93-85

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Team Stats

Josiah Davis

Larry Hughes II

Joshua O'Garro

Aleks Szymczyk

Players Mentioned

Josiah Davis

Mahmoud Fofana

Larry Hughes II

Aleks Szymczyk