CSUN Hosts Fresno State, Visits Delaware in Non-Conference Action

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball resumes non-conference play this week as the Matadors host Fresno State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. before hitting the road to take on Delaware on Saturday at 10 a.m. PT/1:00 p.m. ET. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call at GoMatadors.com/Radio and the Varsity app.

FOR STARTERS
CSUN returns to non-conference action after playing its first two Big West games last week, earning a split. The Matadors have five total non-conference games left on their schedule, which also includes home games with La Sierra (Dec. 19) and Sacramento State (Dec. 22) and a road test at Stanford (Dec. 27). Once the calendar turns to 2026, CSUN will resume Big West action with its remaining 18 league games, beginning Jan. 1 at UC Davis.

ABOUT LAST WEEK
CSUN went 1-1 to open Big West play last week. The Matadors would knock off Cal State Bakersfield in their league opener at Premier America Credit Union Arena by an 87-66 score on Dec. 4. Two days later, CSUN gave preseason favorite UC Irvine a battle at the Bren Events Center before falling down the stretch, 85-71.

Behind a career-high 27 points from Larry Hughes II, CSUN knocked off Cal State Bakersfield. The Matadors closed the first half with an 18-5 run to lead 44-32 at the break. After CSUB closed the gap to five, CSUN registered a 15-2 spurt near the midway point of the second half en route to the victory. The trio of Mahmoud Fofana, Josiah Davis and Joshua O'Garro had 15 points each in the win. CSUN shot 53.1 percent overall while holding CSUB to 35.0 percent shooting.

CSUN would lead most of the night against UC Irvine, taking a 41-37 lead into halftime, however, the Anteaters outscored the Matadors 17-4 over the final five minutes to pick up the win. The Matadors were held to 39.4 percent shooting overall while the Anteaters shot 49.2 percent and won the rebounding battle 47-32. Hughes was again the top Matador scorer, posting 18 while Davis (14 points and 10 assists) and Mahmoud Fofana (11 points and 11 rebounds) had double-doubles.

MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF
Senior guard Larry Hughes II has enjoyed a breakout season with CSUN in 2025-26. After transferring in from Saint Louis, Hughes is averaging a career-high 17.7 points per game, good enough for fourth place in the Big West. Hughes has been especially effective from 3-point range, averaging 3.6 makes per game to lead the conference. He is also ranked fourth in the Big West in 3-point percentage (47.1) while he is sixth in steals per game at 1.7. Prior to this season, Hughes had scored in double figures in 15 of 65 career games, but since arriving at CSUN, he has scored in double figures in eight of nine games including topping 20 points in four games.

LEADING THE BIG WEST
Newcomers Josiah Davis and Joshua O'Garro have made a difference in their first seasons with CSUN as the tandem leads the Big West in assists and rebounding, respectively. Davis, the team's starting point guard, tops the league with a 6.1 assists per game mark. That assist average ranks 21st in the nation while Davis is third on the team in scoring at 12.9 points per game. Meanwhile, O'Garro, who missed CSUN's loss last week at UC Irvine, tops the Big West in rebounding at 9.8 per game. O'Garro is also second on the squad in scoring at 13.1 points on 48.3 percent shooting.

QUICK HITS
Joshua O'Garro currently ranks first in the Big West in double-doubles with four this season. Prior to the year, O'Garro had recorded just four double-doubles at the Division I level ... Josiah Davis has dished out 55 assists on the year, which ranks 27th-most in the nation. Davis is just 18 assists away from distributing the most in a season in his college career ... Larry Hughes II has swished a team-best 32 from 3-point range this season, just 17 off the pace from his career-best 49 he made in 2023-24 with Saint Louis ... A Preseason All-Big West honoree, senior Mahmoud Fofana has posted two double-doubles on the season while he has topped double figures in scoring four times. Fofana has averaged a Division I career-high 9.6 points and 7.9 rebounds thus far this year ... Junior forward Davius Loury poured in a season-high 11 points in the 85-71 loss at UC Irvine on Dec. 6. Loury is averaging 9.0 points per game through CSUN's first two Big West games ... Junior newcomer Jai Chisolm scored a season-best 15 points to lead CSUN in a loss at Idaho State on Nov. 28.

SCOUTING FRESNO STATE
The Bulldogs come in at 6-4 on the season after dropping recent games to Cal State Bakersfield (76-71) and nationally-ranked Arkansas (82-58). Prior to those two losses, Fresno State had won four straight. Coming off a six-win season last year, Fresno State has already matched that win total this season. In the Preseason Mountain West poll, the Bulldogs were picked to finish 11th. Jake Heidbreder leads the team and ranks second in the Mountain West in scoring at 18.8 points per game on 48.1 percent shooting while Zaon Collins is averaging 13.8 points on 50.5 percent shooting. Wilson Jacques tops the Bulldogs in rebounding, averaging 7.1 per game.

Series History: The Bulldogs lead the Matadors in the all-time series 30-6. Fresno State has won two straight meetings, most recently beating CSUN 65-56 in Dec. 2022. The Matadors' last win in the series was a 73-72 triumph in 2019.

SCOUTING DELAWARE
The Fightin' Blue Hens are 2-6 on the season, falling to Iona (89-66) and Delaware State (75-72) last week. Delaware has gone 1-2 at home this season as the Blue Hens knocked off Saint Peter's on Nov. 18. After finishing as runner-up in the CAA tournament last season, Delaware transitioned to Conference USA this season. Macon Emory leads the Blue Hens in scoring at 14.5 points followed closely by Christian Bliss and Justyn Fernandez at 14.4 points per game each. On the glass, Emory also posts a team-high 7.9 rebounds per game on the year.

Series History: Saturday will be the first-ever meeting between CSUN and Delaware.

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CSUN Hosts Fresno State, Visits Delaware in Non-Conference Action

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Players Mentioned

Jai Chisolm

Josiah Davis

Mahmoud Fofana

Larry Hughes II

Davius Loury

Joshua O'Garro