Saturday, February 15
Northridge, Calif.
5:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
18-7,10-4Big West
89
vs
85
Cal Poly
10-16,4-10Big West
1
2
F
Cal Poly
50
35
85
CSUN
46
43
89
Photo by: Connor Clark
CSUN Stretches Win Streak to Five with 89-85 Win Over Cal Poly
2/15/2025 8:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---Scotty Washington scored a career-high 29 points as CSUN Men's Basketball won its fifth in row with an 89-85 victory over Cal Poly on Saturday at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Marcus Adams Jr. added 17 points and 10 rebounds and Keonte Jones totaled 16 points and 12 rebounds. The Matadors rallied from a halftime deficit and outscored the Mustangs 43-35 in the second half.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Saturday's game would be a high scoring shootout with 15 lead changes and eight total ties. Cal Poly grabbed an 8-3 lead to open the game before Jones threw down a dunk off a feed from Tyler Beard. The Mustangs though followed with a three, one of 14 for the team on the night. CSUN went on a 9-0 run to take a 14-11 lead on an Adams bucket, but Isaac Jessup knocked down a three on the ensuing possession. Near the midway point of the first half, Jones broke a 20-20 tie with a layup before Washington drained a three to cap a 7-0 Matador run. CSUN held its biggest lead of the game at 27-20 after that run and remained in front until the three-minute mark. Washington drilled another three with 5:33 to go, pushing the lead to 39-33, but Cal Poly countered with a 7-0 run, closed by a Jarred Hyder three. CSUN held a slim 46-45 lead on another Washington three before Cal Poly scored the final five points of the period to take a 50-46 lead into halftime.
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Out of intermission, Adams and Jones scored back-to-back layups to even the game up. Cal Poly though quickly regained the lead on a Mac Riniker three. Undeterred, CSUN had a response when Adams slammed home a dunk. A defensive stop coupled with a Washington three gave CSUN the lead once more at 55-53. The Mustangs caught the Matadors at 60-60 on a Cayden Ward basket until Jones gave CSUN the lead again on a dunk.
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Thanks to three point shooting, Cal Poly held a 66-65 lead with 12:15 to go before CSUN scored the next four points. Washington's strong shooting continued with another clutch three with 7:31 to go, stretching the lead to 77-72 before the Mustangs answered again with a three from Guzman Vasilic. CSUN picked up a pair of key defensive stops along with a Jones tip in and two Washington free throws to take an 83-77 lead with 3:37 left.
Washington made two key free throws, pushing the lead to 85-80 with under two minutes to play. The Mustangs drew closer when a costly CSUN foul from beyond the 3-point arc, allowed Owen Koonce to make three free throws and trim the lead to 85-83 with under a minute to go. In the pivotal moment of the game, Jones gave CSUN some breathing room with a timely driving layup for a CSUN 87-83 lead with 21 seconds left. Riniker cut the lead to 87-85 on the ensuing possession then Cal Poly turned CSUN over, leading to a frantic sequence where Koonce missed the potential tying shot with two seconds to play. Adams picked up the defensive rebound and made two free throws to ice the game.
NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"[Scotty Washington's] offense really carried us tonight when defensively we weren't very good. You can't count on stuff like that. It was great to see. He's taken his game to a level where he can carry us offensively, and he certainly did that tonight."
UP NEXT
The Matadors hit the road next week with a road test at UC Irvine on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister are on the call at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#GoMatadors
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Saturday's game would be a high scoring shootout with 15 lead changes and eight total ties. Cal Poly grabbed an 8-3 lead to open the game before Jones threw down a dunk off a feed from Tyler Beard. The Mustangs though followed with a three, one of 14 for the team on the night. CSUN went on a 9-0 run to take a 14-11 lead on an Adams bucket, but Isaac Jessup knocked down a three on the ensuing possession. Near the midway point of the first half, Jones broke a 20-20 tie with a layup before Washington drained a three to cap a 7-0 Matador run. CSUN held its biggest lead of the game at 27-20 after that run and remained in front until the three-minute mark. Washington drilled another three with 5:33 to go, pushing the lead to 39-33, but Cal Poly countered with a 7-0 run, closed by a Jarred Hyder three. CSUN held a slim 46-45 lead on another Washington three before Cal Poly scored the final five points of the period to take a 50-46 lead into halftime.
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Great ball movement leads to wide open Washington three.
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) February 16, 2025
It's an 11-2 CSUN run.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/NPxB21ACrt
Out of intermission, Adams and Jones scored back-to-back layups to even the game up. Cal Poly though quickly regained the lead on a Mac Riniker three. Undeterred, CSUN had a response when Adams slammed home a dunk. A defensive stop coupled with a Washington three gave CSUN the lead once more at 55-53. The Mustangs caught the Matadors at 60-60 on a Cayden Ward basket until Jones gave CSUN the lead again on a dunk.
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Watch ya head. ??
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) February 16, 2025
Keonte Jones is up to 12 points and 8 rebounds.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/iveVuxBi47
Thanks to three point shooting, Cal Poly held a 66-65 lead with 12:15 to go before CSUN scored the next four points. Washington's strong shooting continued with another clutch three with 7:31 to go, stretching the lead to 77-72 before the Mustangs answered again with a three from Guzman Vasilic. CSUN picked up a pair of key defensive stops along with a Jones tip in and two Washington free throws to take an 83-77 lead with 3:37 left.
Washington made two key free throws, pushing the lead to 85-80 with under two minutes to play. The Mustangs drew closer when a costly CSUN foul from beyond the 3-point arc, allowed Owen Koonce to make three free throws and trim the lead to 85-83 with under a minute to go. In the pivotal moment of the game, Jones gave CSUN some breathing room with a timely driving layup for a CSUN 87-83 lead with 21 seconds left. Riniker cut the lead to 87-85 on the ensuing possession then Cal Poly turned CSUN over, leading to a frantic sequence where Koonce missed the potential tying shot with two seconds to play. Adams picked up the defensive rebound and made two free throws to ice the game.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN improves to 18-7 overall and 10-4 in Big West play while Cal Poly slips to 10-16 overall and 4-10 in conference.
- The Matadors shot 47.3 percent for the game while making 9-of-26 threes (34.6 percent) and 10-of-13 free throws (76.9 percent). Cal Poly shot 44.6 percent overall while hitting 14-of-39 threes (35.9 percent) and 13-of-17 free thows (76.5 percent).
- On the glass, CSUN out-rebounded Cal Poly 47-31 and led 20-5 in second chance points.
- The Matadors held a 44-26 edge in points in the paint.
- Jones' double-double was his 12th of the season while Adams recorded his second.
- Beard chipped in with nine points seven assists and five rebounds off the bench. Grady Lewis also contributed eight points and seven rebounds.
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"[Scotty Washington's] offense really carried us tonight when defensively we weren't very good. You can't count on stuff like that. It was great to see. He's taken his game to a level where he can carry us offensively, and he certainly did that tonight."
UP NEXT
The Matadors hit the road next week with a road test at UC Irvine on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister are on the call at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
CPO
CSUN
FG%
.446
.473
3FG%
.359
.346
FT%
.765
.769
RB
31
47
TO
21
23
STL
13
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
29
FGM
10
3FGM
5
FTM
4
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F/C
/ Men's BasketballG/F
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