Saturday, March 1
Northridge, Calif.
5:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
21-8,13-5Big West
103
vs
77
UC Santa Barbara
19-11,11-8Big West
1
2
F
UC Santa Barbara
46
31
77
CSUN
58
45
103
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Reaches Most Wins Since '01 After Offensive Explosion vs. UCSB
3/1/2025 8:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---Five scored in double figures as CSUN Men's Basketball knocked off UC Santa Barbara 103-77 on Saturday night at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Scotty Washington had a game-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting while Marcus Adams Jr. added 20 points. CSUN would receive contributions from up and down its roster as eight different players scored and seven registered assists.
The win gave CSUN's its 21st win of the season, the most for the program since the 2000-01 season while the Matadors also clinched a first round bye in the 2025 Big West Championship.
HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN would come out quickly, scoring on its first three possessions for a 6-0 lead. The Gauchos though answered with three consecutive from 3-point range in a 9-0 run. Cole Anderson soon drilled a three of his own at the 15:32 mark for a 14-10 UCSB lead. Washington gave CSUN a lift offensively throughout the night including hitting a field goal at the 13-minute mark to pull CSUN to within 19-18. After Anderson hit another three for a four-point Gaucho lead, CSUN scored the next five with Washington and PJ Fuller II hitting baskets. Moments later, Grady Lewis scored on a putback layup to tie the game at 27-27 then Washington tallied the next five to complete a CSUN 7-0 run. Adams scored on a tough drive to the hoop for a 36-31 lead with 6:22 left to play in the first half, but UCSB scored the next five to tie the game.
In a pivotal moment of the game, following a Duece Turner layup, UCSB's Kenny Pohto was ejected on two technical fouls. CSUN would receive two technical fouls as well during the same play, resulting in four free throws for each side. Washington hit four consecutive free throws after the UCSB technicals, beginning an 18-0 Matador run near the five-minute mark. CSUN made 10 free throws during that stretch while Keonte Jones and Adams scored on layups. CSUN took a 15-point lead in the final minute of action on an Adams' layup before Colin Smith closed the half on a three to cut the CSUN lead to 58-46.=
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Out of intermission, the Gauchos scored the first six points to pull to within 58-52 before CSUN scored the next four with Washington pushing the lead back to double digits. The Matadors had their lead slip to six again at the 17:41 mark only to score the next eight points with Fuller making it a 70-56 game. UCSB looked to chip away at the deficit, clawing back to within 11 at the 14-minute mark, but the Matador offense would be too much to overcome. In an 8-0 run, CSUN picked up thrilling dunks from Lewis and Jones to extend to an 80-61 lead. Adams would push the lead to 20 points on a reverse layup before later scoring on a driving layup for a 94-71 lead with 5:29 to go. CSUN reached the century mark in points when Mahmoud Fofana drilled a corner three while Robert Thibiant closed the scoring for the night with a three in the final minute, bringing the CSUN faithful to their feet. In all, CSUN outscored UCSB 45-31 in the second half,
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NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"That was what we set out to do. A fun way to do it in front of our home crowd. I'm just really proud with how we responded from Thursday and I'm really excited for the guys.
"It's not what I said [about Thursday's loss to UC San Diego], it's a testament to those guys in that locker room. They don't like losing and it hurts them. That says a lot about who they are and what they are capable of doing."
UP NEXT
CSUN will wrap up its road schedule for the regular season next Thursday, March 6 at UC Riverside. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
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The win gave CSUN's its 21st win of the season, the most for the program since the 2000-01 season while the Matadors also clinched a first round bye in the 2025 Big West Championship.
HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN would come out quickly, scoring on its first three possessions for a 6-0 lead. The Gauchos though answered with three consecutive from 3-point range in a 9-0 run. Cole Anderson soon drilled a three of his own at the 15:32 mark for a 14-10 UCSB lead. Washington gave CSUN a lift offensively throughout the night including hitting a field goal at the 13-minute mark to pull CSUN to within 19-18. After Anderson hit another three for a four-point Gaucho lead, CSUN scored the next five with Washington and PJ Fuller II hitting baskets. Moments later, Grady Lewis scored on a putback layup to tie the game at 27-27 then Washington tallied the next five to complete a CSUN 7-0 run. Adams scored on a tough drive to the hoop for a 36-31 lead with 6:22 left to play in the first half, but UCSB scored the next five to tie the game.
In a pivotal moment of the game, following a Duece Turner layup, UCSB's Kenny Pohto was ejected on two technical fouls. CSUN would receive two technical fouls as well during the same play, resulting in four free throws for each side. Washington hit four consecutive free throws after the UCSB technicals, beginning an 18-0 Matador run near the five-minute mark. CSUN made 10 free throws during that stretch while Keonte Jones and Adams scored on layups. CSUN took a 15-point lead in the final minute of action on an Adams' layup before Colin Smith closed the half on a three to cut the CSUN lead to 58-46.=
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Scotty Washington has 21 points (7-10 FG) in the FIRST HALF.
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) March 2, 2025
CSUN's up 13.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/CuD8oRVRGU
Out of intermission, the Gauchos scored the first six points to pull to within 58-52 before CSUN scored the next four with Washington pushing the lead back to double digits. The Matadors had their lead slip to six again at the 17:41 mark only to score the next eight points with Fuller making it a 70-56 game. UCSB looked to chip away at the deficit, clawing back to within 11 at the 14-minute mark, but the Matador offense would be too much to overcome. In an 8-0 run, CSUN picked up thrilling dunks from Lewis and Jones to extend to an 80-61 lead. Adams would push the lead to 20 points on a reverse layup before later scoring on a driving layup for a 94-71 lead with 5:29 to go. CSUN reached the century mark in points when Mahmoud Fofana drilled a corner three while Robert Thibiant closed the scoring for the night with a three in the final minute, bringing the CSUN faithful to their feet. In all, CSUN outscored UCSB 45-31 in the second half,
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Shot clock running down?
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) March 2, 2025
Robert Thibiant isn't worried.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/R0kgBqyGj7
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN improves to 21-8 overall while UC Santa Barbara drops to 19-11 overall and 11-8 in conference.
- The Matadors shot 56.7 percent from the floor overall while hitting 30-of-31 free throws (96.8 percent) and 5-of-13 free throws (38.5 percent). The Gauchos finished shooting 39.2 percent overall while hitting 12-of-34 threes (35.3 percent) and 25-of-28 free throws (89.3 percent).
- CSUN made its first 30 free throw attempts on the night. The team's 96.8 free throw percentage is the third-best in a game in team history.
- Also scoring in double figures for CSUN were Jones (16), Lewis (14), and Tyler Beard (10). Fofana added nine points and a team-high eight rebounds.
- The Matadors out-rebounded the Gauchos 39-19. CSUN also led 48-12 in points in the paint.
- CSUN completed its first season sweep of UC Santa Barbara since the 2019-20 season.
- The 103 points on the night are the most in a conference game since CSUN scored 108 against Long Beach State on Feb. 1, 2017.
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"That was what we set out to do. A fun way to do it in front of our home crowd. I'm just really proud with how we responded from Thursday and I'm really excited for the guys.
"It's not what I said [about Thursday's loss to UC San Diego], it's a testament to those guys in that locker room. They don't like losing and it hurts them. That says a lot about who they are and what they are capable of doing."
UP NEXT
CSUN will wrap up its road schedule for the regular season next Thursday, March 6 at UC Riverside. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
UCSB
CSUN
FG%
.392
.567
3FG%
.353
.385
FT%
.893
.968
RB
19
39
TO
12
9
STL
6
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF/C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG/F
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