Thursday, February 20
Irvine, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
19-7,11-4Big West
84
at
72
UC Irvine
22-5,12-3Big West
1
2
F
CSUN
34
50
84
UC Irvine
37
35
72
Photo by: Connor Clark
CSUN Notches Road Win at First-Place UC Irvine for Sixth Straight Win
2/20/2025 10:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---Powered by a 50-point second half, CSUN Men's Basketball extended its win streak to six with an 84-72 victory over Big West-leading UC Irvine on Thursday at the Bren Events Center. Marcus Adams Jr. led the way with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting while Scotty Washington had 14 points and both Tyler Beard and Judson Martindale had 10 points apiece. CSUN outscored UCI 50-35 in the second half including 27-11 to end the game.
The win was CSUN's first victory at UC Irvine since 2020 while the Matadors have clinched their first winning conference record since the 2008-09 season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In a battle of top Big West teams, UC Irvine opened an early 9-4 lead before CSUN answered with a 9-0 run, capped by a Grady Lewis basket. CSUN would get key contributions from Lewis and Judson Martindale off the bench throughout the night as Martindale scored inside at the 11:32 mark for a 17-13 lead. The Anteaters though followed with an 11-0 run with Torian Lee closing the run to put CSUN behind 24-17. The Matadors would inch closer with back-to-back layups from Keonte Jones then finally catch UC Irvine at the 5:39 mark on a Martindale layup. Martindale was strong offensively in the first half, making two from distance under the four minute mark. Tyler Beard knocked down a jumper with 1:04 left to play in the first half, but UCI went into the break with a 37-34 lead.
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CSUN began the second half red hot, making five of its first six field goals. Adams made two of those baskets while Jones scored on a drive to the hoop to tie the game at 46-46. The score remained tied at 49-49 until Washington put the Matadors on top with a jumper at the 15:01 mark. The Anteaters though scored the next four points, but CSUN quickly answered to even the game on two free throws from Jordan Brinson. The back and forth play continued with UCI taking a 56-53 lead on a Lee three before Adams responded with a basket on CSUN's next possession. The Matadors would trail 61-57 with 9:59 before going on a pivotal 9-0 run, highlighted by two threes from Adams. Lewis closed the run with a traditional 3-point play for a 66-61 lead with 7:21 to play.
After Justin Hohn cut the CSUN lead to three on a field goal, Beard set up Mahmoud Fofana with a score in the paint. Adams then drilled another three with 5:17 to play, putting CSUN ahead 71-63. The Matadors picked up another timely three, this time from Washington at the 3:43 mark, putting the Anteaters in a 76-67 deficit. UCI made one last push after a Bent Leuchten basket to cut the gap to 78-71, but Adams punctuated a CSUN win moments later with a massive dunk on a leaping Leuchten. Washington drained four late free throws to seal the win.
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NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"I'm so proud of our guys with how hard and tough they played. They had that same look in their eyes that they had in Hawai'i. They're just a buzz saw. When they are defending like that we can beat anybody. It was great to have that contribution from Marcus, but we weren't going to lose tonight based on how we were defending. I'm just really proud of their effort tonight."
UP NEXT
CSUN stays on the road to take on UC Davis on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan has the call in an audio broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#GoMatadors
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The win was CSUN's first victory at UC Irvine since 2020 while the Matadors have clinched their first winning conference record since the 2008-09 season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In a battle of top Big West teams, UC Irvine opened an early 9-4 lead before CSUN answered with a 9-0 run, capped by a Grady Lewis basket. CSUN would get key contributions from Lewis and Judson Martindale off the bench throughout the night as Martindale scored inside at the 11:32 mark for a 17-13 lead. The Anteaters though followed with an 11-0 run with Torian Lee closing the run to put CSUN behind 24-17. The Matadors would inch closer with back-to-back layups from Keonte Jones then finally catch UC Irvine at the 5:39 mark on a Martindale layup. Martindale was strong offensively in the first half, making two from distance under the four minute mark. Tyler Beard knocked down a jumper with 1:04 left to play in the first half, but UCI went into the break with a 37-34 lead.
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Judson Martindale from the corner ??
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) February 21, 2025
Back-and-forth we go late in the first half.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/8BTthGlu5t
CSUN began the second half red hot, making five of its first six field goals. Adams made two of those baskets while Jones scored on a drive to the hoop to tie the game at 46-46. The score remained tied at 49-49 until Washington put the Matadors on top with a jumper at the 15:01 mark. The Anteaters though scored the next four points, but CSUN quickly answered to even the game on two free throws from Jordan Brinson. The back and forth play continued with UCI taking a 56-53 lead on a Lee three before Adams responded with a basket on CSUN's next possession. The Matadors would trail 61-57 with 9:59 before going on a pivotal 9-0 run, highlighted by two threes from Adams. Lewis closed the run with a traditional 3-point play for a 66-61 lead with 7:21 to play.
After Justin Hohn cut the CSUN lead to three on a field goal, Beard set up Mahmoud Fofana with a score in the paint. Adams then drilled another three with 5:17 to play, putting CSUN ahead 71-63. The Matadors picked up another timely three, this time from Washington at the 3:43 mark, putting the Anteaters in a 76-67 deficit. UCI made one last push after a Bent Leuchten basket to cut the gap to 78-71, but Adams punctuated a CSUN win moments later with a massive dunk on a leaping Leuchten. Washington drained four late free throws to seal the win.
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OH MY GOODNESS.
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) February 21, 2025
THE EXCLAMATION POINT FROM @marcusadams21.#GoMatadors x #SCTop10 x @ESPNAssignDesk pic.twitter.com/e5vI6IyZXi
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN improves to 19-7 overall and 11-4 in Big West play while UC Irvine slips to 22-5 overall and 12-3 in conference.
- The Matadors shot 45.3 percent overall while making 8-of-19 threes (42.1 percent) and 18-of-21 free throws (85.7 percent). The Anteaters were held to 40.7 percent from the field while hitting 10-of-25 threes (40.0 percent) and 18-of-24 free throws (75.0 percent).
- The loss was UC Irvine's first loss of the season when leading at the half, snapping a 17-0 record.
- Off the bench, Martindale was 4-of-4 from the floor to go with three rebounds. Lewis finished with seven points and five rebounds in a reserve role.
- Beard made his first start as a Matador, dishing out six assists with 10 points.
- Jones had eight points and eight rebounds for CSUN.
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"I'm so proud of our guys with how hard and tough they played. They had that same look in their eyes that they had in Hawai'i. They're just a buzz saw. When they are defending like that we can beat anybody. It was great to have that contribution from Marcus, but we weren't going to lose tonight based on how we were defending. I'm just really proud of their effort tonight."
UP NEXT
CSUN stays on the road to take on UC Davis on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan has the call in an audio broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
CSUN
Irvine
FG%
.453
.407
3FG%
.421
.400
FT%
.857
.750
RB
39
32
TO
11
12
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F/C
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG/F
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