Saturday, February 1
Northridge, Calif.
5:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
15-7,7-4Big West
88
vs
62
Cal State Bakersfield
10-13,4-7Big West
1
2
F
CSU Bakersfield
22
40
62
CSUN
44
44
88
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Posts Wire-to-Wire Win Over Cal State Bakersfield
2/1/2025 8:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball led from start to finish in an 88-62 victory over Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Keonte Jones finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals while Scotty Washington had 15 points to go with 3-of-7 shooting from three. The Matadors would get contributions from up and down their roster throughout including guards PJ Fuller II and Jordan Brinson, who had 13 and 12 points, respectively.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Nearly a month after letting a 23-point lead slip away and falling at Bakersfield, CSUN looked to avenge that heartbreaker on Saturday. The Matadors would jump on the Roadrunners at the start, racing out to an 8-2 lead. CSUN would hold Bakersfield to one made field over the first five-plus minutes of the game. A Jemel Jones basket cut the Matador lead to 10-5 before CSUN went on an 8-0 run, closed by a Fuller basket off a Jones steal. The Matadors' lead grew further to 21-7 when Washington sank a three at the midway point of the first half. CSUN converted another CSUB turnover into easy points when Fuller picked up a steal, leading to a Jones layup on the fastbreak. The Matadors went on a late 10-0 run, turning an 11-point lead to 37-16 with 4:13 on the clock. The lead grew further to 22 points on a Brinson 3-pointer while Grady Lewis closed the first half on a layup inside for a 44-22 lead at halftime. In total, CSUN held Bakersfield to just five made field goals in the first period.
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Out of intermission, CSUN picked up a traditional 3-point play when Marcus Adams Jr. collected a steal and Jones finished at the rim, plus a foul. The Runners' scored the next five points to pull closer at 47-29. The Matadors though had an answer when Fuller scored in the paint. Fuller later set up Mahmoud Fofana for a basket in the lane as the lead stood at 51-31 with 14:50 remaining. Moments later, Brinson knocked down his second from long range while Lewis finished inside to push the lead further to 60-36 with 12:04 on the clock. A pair of threes from Bakersfield near the 10-minute mark would cut the deficit to 19 points, but CSUN seemingly had an answer for each run. Another 10-0 run, capped by a Washington three with 5:55 remaining made it a 75-47 game. CSUN led by as many as 30 points down the stretch as 10 different players found the scoring column. Robert Thibiant also brought the Matador bench to their feet with a late three in the final minute of action.
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NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"We were on it [in the first half]. We were playing our best basketball. If we defend like that and keep this going, and not let complacency creep in, we're going to be tough.
"Jordan played great. It was kind of the spurts that we saw with him last year before the injury. Hopefully, he uses this as a confidence builder and keeps going in the right direction."
UP NEXT
CSUN stays at home and takes on Cal State Fullerton next Thursday at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m. with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call on ESPN+ and GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#GoMatadors
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Nearly a month after letting a 23-point lead slip away and falling at Bakersfield, CSUN looked to avenge that heartbreaker on Saturday. The Matadors would jump on the Roadrunners at the start, racing out to an 8-2 lead. CSUN would hold Bakersfield to one made field over the first five-plus minutes of the game. A Jemel Jones basket cut the Matador lead to 10-5 before CSUN went on an 8-0 run, closed by a Fuller basket off a Jones steal. The Matadors' lead grew further to 21-7 when Washington sank a three at the midway point of the first half. CSUN converted another CSUB turnover into easy points when Fuller picked up a steal, leading to a Jones layup on the fastbreak. The Matadors went on a late 10-0 run, turning an 11-point lead to 37-16 with 4:13 on the clock. The lead grew further to 22 points on a Brinson 3-pointer while Grady Lewis closed the first half on a layup inside for a 44-22 lead at halftime. In total, CSUN held Bakersfield to just five made field goals in the first period.
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CSUN doing it all right now. Defense - passing - scoring.
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) February 2, 2025
Keonte Jones is up to 11 points as the home team extends its lead to 21 (10-0 run).#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/iWZHwkqXBu
Out of intermission, CSUN picked up a traditional 3-point play when Marcus Adams Jr. collected a steal and Jones finished at the rim, plus a foul. The Runners' scored the next five points to pull closer at 47-29. The Matadors though had an answer when Fuller scored in the paint. Fuller later set up Mahmoud Fofana for a basket in the lane as the lead stood at 51-31 with 14:50 remaining. Moments later, Brinson knocked down his second from long range while Lewis finished inside to push the lead further to 60-36 with 12:04 on the clock. A pair of threes from Bakersfield near the 10-minute mark would cut the deficit to 19 points, but CSUN seemingly had an answer for each run. Another 10-0 run, capped by a Washington three with 5:55 remaining made it a 75-47 game. CSUN led by as many as 30 points down the stretch as 10 different players found the scoring column. Robert Thibiant also brought the Matador bench to their feet with a late three in the final minute of action.
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Third triple for Scotty Washington and he now has a game-high 15 points.
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) February 2, 2025
CSUN has its largest lead of 28.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/v0atvYn56S
NOTES OF THE GAME
- The Matadors improved to 15-7 overall and 7-4 in Big West play while Bakersfield slips to 10-13 overall and 4-7 in conference.
- CSUN shot 50.8 percent for the night while making 7-of-15 threes (46.7 percent) and 19-of-25 free throws (76.0 percent). Bakersfield was held to 33.9 percent shooting while connecting on 4-of-18 threes (22.2 percent) and 20-of-24 free throws (83.3 percent).
- Prior the game, Bakersfield had ranked fourth in the nation in 3-point percentage (39.8 percent).
- On the glass, CSUN held a 37-34 advantage and led 46-26 in points in the paint.
- The Matadors had 35 bench points with Brinson leading the way with 12. Festus Ndumanya had eight points while Lewis and Tyler Beard had six each.
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"We were on it [in the first half]. We were playing our best basketball. If we defend like that and keep this going, and not let complacency creep in, we're going to be tough.
"Jordan played great. It was kind of the spurts that we saw with him last year before the injury. Hopefully, he uses this as a confidence builder and keeps going in the right direction."
UP NEXT
CSUN stays at home and takes on Cal State Fullerton next Thursday at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m. with Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister on the call on ESPN+ and GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
CSUB
CSUN
FG%
.339
.508
3FG%
.222
.467
FT%
.833
.760
RB
34
37
TO
18
13
STL
8
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F/C
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG/F
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