Tuesday, March 18
Stanford, Calif.
8:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
22-11,14-6Big West
70
at
87
Stanford
21-13,11-9ACC
1
2
F
CSUN
29
41
70
Stanford
46
41
87
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Closes Season with Hard-Fought Loss to Stanford in NIT
3/18/2025 10:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
STANFORD, Calif.---Playing in its first National Invitation Tournament in school history, CSUN Men's Basketball dropped an 87-70 decision to Stanford on Tuesday at Maples Pavilion. Keonte Jones finished with 18 points and five rebounds while Scotty Washington added 17 points and five rebounds.
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Senior Tyler Beard wrapped up his collegiate career with a 10-point effort to go with four assists in his third start of the season. CSUN also picked up 12 points and seven rebounds from Grady Lewis.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Playing shorthanded without its leading scorer Marcus Adams Jr., CSUN would give Stanford a battle for 40 minutes. The Matadors would get off to a slow start, missing their first five shots while the Cardinal stormed out to a 9-0 lead behind early baskets from Maxime Raynaud. After falling behind by double digits, CSUN would get six straight points from its bench with Lewis scoring four of those points. The Matadors pulled to within 18-13 on a Washington three near the 12-minute mark, but Jaylen Blakes answered on the other end for the Cardinal. CSUN's defense though went to work, holding Stanford scoreless over a two-minute stretch while scoring five straight points with Jones bringing the Matadors to within 21-18 with 9:23 left in the first half.
However, every time CSUN made a push, Stanford would come away with timely baskets throughout the night. A three from Oziyah Sellers quickly extended the lead to six then Benny Gealer added a three of his own to put CSUN in a 27-18 hole. The Matadors would respond with field goals from Jones and Washington, but the Cardinal scored the next six to stretch their lead back to double digits. After falling behind by a 39-25 margin near the four-minute mark, CSUN would get to within 10 points on a PJ Fuller II drive in the lane. The last minute though belonged to the home team with Stanford scoring seven unanswered points, highlighted by a Gealer three at the halftime buzzer for a 46-29 lead.
The Matadors would flip the script on the offensive end in the second half, shooting 57.7 percent as they looked to claw away at the double-digit deficit. After the lead grew to 20 points to start the second half, Mahmoud Fofana scored a tough layup, plus a foul while Washington scored on a pull up jumper to bring the Matadors to within 53-37. At the 14:05 mark, Washington buried a three to trim the deficit to 56-42, however, the Cardinal had an answer when Gealer nailed a three of his own. Despite a three from Fuller and consecutive Lewis baskets around the eight-minute mark of the second half, the Matadors were unable to cut the deficit into single digits. Stanford's high-powered offense extended to a 19-point lead when Sellers hit a three for an 80-61 lead with 3:18 to go. CSUN would score the next four points, pulling to within 15 points but never got closer the rest of the way. Washington capped off a career season with a late jumper with a minute to play while Stanford made seven free throws in the final moments en route to the victory.
NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"I thought we battled hard, but we didn't play good. That was obvious, but we fought hard, we played tough, which is all you can really ask for your guys. And so I was super proud of the effort, super proud of the year that we've had. And now having that kind of capstone here with an NIT appearance and getting a chance to play a really good Stanford team up here on their home court, it was just a great way to cap off a historic season for Cal State Northridge."
SEASON RECAP
CSUN completes an historic 2024-25 season with several school records reached in head coach Andy Newman's second season at the helm. The Matadors tied a school record with 22 wins this season, matching the wins set by the 1977-78 and 2000-01 teams. During the year, CSUN hit 20 wins the fastest in its Division I history, reaching the milestone in just 27 games. CSUN went 14-6 in Big West play, posting its most wins in conference play in school history, and finishing tied for third overall in the conference. Moreover, CSUN tied a school record with 10 road wins and matched the program's Division I record for consecutive overall wins with seven. Over the past two seasons, CSUN has won 41 games, the most for the program over a two-year span since 1999-01.
#GoMatadors
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Senior Tyler Beard wrapped up his collegiate career with a 10-point effort to go with four assists in his third start of the season. CSUN also picked up 12 points and seven rebounds from Grady Lewis.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Playing shorthanded without its leading scorer Marcus Adams Jr., CSUN would give Stanford a battle for 40 minutes. The Matadors would get off to a slow start, missing their first five shots while the Cardinal stormed out to a 9-0 lead behind early baskets from Maxime Raynaud. After falling behind by double digits, CSUN would get six straight points from its bench with Lewis scoring four of those points. The Matadors pulled to within 18-13 on a Washington three near the 12-minute mark, but Jaylen Blakes answered on the other end for the Cardinal. CSUN's defense though went to work, holding Stanford scoreless over a two-minute stretch while scoring five straight points with Jones bringing the Matadors to within 21-18 with 9:23 left in the first half.
However, every time CSUN made a push, Stanford would come away with timely baskets throughout the night. A three from Oziyah Sellers quickly extended the lead to six then Benny Gealer added a three of his own to put CSUN in a 27-18 hole. The Matadors would respond with field goals from Jones and Washington, but the Cardinal scored the next six to stretch their lead back to double digits. After falling behind by a 39-25 margin near the four-minute mark, CSUN would get to within 10 points on a PJ Fuller II drive in the lane. The last minute though belonged to the home team with Stanford scoring seven unanswered points, highlighted by a Gealer three at the halftime buzzer for a 46-29 lead.
The Matadors would flip the script on the offensive end in the second half, shooting 57.7 percent as they looked to claw away at the double-digit deficit. After the lead grew to 20 points to start the second half, Mahmoud Fofana scored a tough layup, plus a foul while Washington scored on a pull up jumper to bring the Matadors to within 53-37. At the 14:05 mark, Washington buried a three to trim the deficit to 56-42, however, the Cardinal had an answer when Gealer nailed a three of his own. Despite a three from Fuller and consecutive Lewis baskets around the eight-minute mark of the second half, the Matadors were unable to cut the deficit into single digits. Stanford's high-powered offense extended to a 19-point lead when Sellers hit a three for an 80-61 lead with 3:18 to go. CSUN would score the next four points, pulling to within 15 points but never got closer the rest of the way. Washington capped off a career season with a late jumper with a minute to play while Stanford made seven free throws in the final moments en route to the victory.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN finishes the 2024-25 season with a 22-11 overall record while Stanford advances to the second round of the NIT with a 21-13 record.
- The Matadors shot 45.9 percent for the game while making 4-of-17 threes (23.5 percent) and 10-of-18 free throws (55.6 percent). The Cardinal shot 46.7 percent overall while connecting on 12-of-31 threes (38.7 percent) and 19-of-23 free throws (82.6 percent).
- Stanford held a narrow 36-34 edge in rebounds.
- In points in the paint, the Matadors led 42-24.
- The quartet of Beard, Fuller, Judson Martindale and Festus Ndumanya closed their collegiate careers on Tuesday. Beard played 33 minutes in his final game, making 3-of-7 shots with 10 points while Fuller posted five points and two assists in 29 minutes. Martindale had four points and three rebounds in 20 minutes and Ndumanya had a rebound in four minutes of action.
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"I thought we battled hard, but we didn't play good. That was obvious, but we fought hard, we played tough, which is all you can really ask for your guys. And so I was super proud of the effort, super proud of the year that we've had. And now having that kind of capstone here with an NIT appearance and getting a chance to play a really good Stanford team up here on their home court, it was just a great way to cap off a historic season for Cal State Northridge."
SEASON RECAP
CSUN completes an historic 2024-25 season with several school records reached in head coach Andy Newman's second season at the helm. The Matadors tied a school record with 22 wins this season, matching the wins set by the 1977-78 and 2000-01 teams. During the year, CSUN hit 20 wins the fastest in its Division I history, reaching the milestone in just 27 games. CSUN went 14-6 in Big West play, posting its most wins in conference play in school history, and finishing tied for third overall in the conference. Moreover, CSUN tied a school record with 10 road wins and matched the program's Division I record for consecutive overall wins with seven. Over the past two seasons, CSUN has won 41 games, the most for the program over a two-year span since 1999-01.
#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
CSUN
Stan
FG%
.459
.467
3FG%
.235
.387
FT%
.556
.826
RB
34
36
TO
11
8
STL
2
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF/C
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballG/F
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