Thursday, March 6
Riverside, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
21-9,13-6Big West
79
at
94
UC Riverside
20-11,13-6Big West
1
2
F
CSUN
39
40
79
UC Riverside
46
48
94
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Suffers Road Loss at UC Riverside
3/6/2025 9:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RIVERSIDE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball fell at UC Riverside 94-79 on Saturday at the SRC Arena. Five Matadors scored in double figures with Marcus Adams Jr. scoring 17 points to lead the way while Mahmoud Fofana had 16 points and six rebounds and PJ Fuller II had 15 points and six assists. CSUN trimmed a 19 point deficit to four in the second half but could not slow a red-hot shooting Highlanders team down the stretch.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN struggled throughout the first half from the floor, missing its first nine shots to start the game. Fuller knocked down CSUN's first field goal at the 15:22 mark of the first half to pull the Matadors to within 8-4. UCR though went on an 8-2 spurt with Nate Pickens pushing the lead to double digits at 16-6. The lead swelled to 14 at 22-8 when Kaleb Smith knocked down a jumper then Barrington Hargress sank a three for a 25-10 lead at the midway point of the first half. CSUN would trail by as many as 19 points near the six-minute mark before rallying down the stretch of the first half. The Matadors would go on an 11-2 run with Adams cutting the lead to 38-28. Smith hit a three for UCR, not before another 11-2 Matador run with Adams closing that run as well with a three. Hargress though hit a late three to end the half, pushing the lead to 46-39 at intermission.
The Matadors would come up empty on their first four possessions to start the second half until Fuller ended the string with a jumper. Fuller would score again moments later on a floater to bring CSUN to within 51-44. The Matadors clawed to within six at the free throw line, but the Highlanders kept answering with timely baskets as Niyi Olabode hit a three. CSUN would pull to within five twice, first on an Adams layup then a Tyler Beard basket, however, UCR scored on its ensuing possession each time. Isaiah Moses scored an easy two to push the lead to 66-57, only to see Beard answer with a three seconds later. CSUN would creep closer on a Fuller field goal and two free throws from Fofana to pull to within 68-64 with 8:16 to go. The teams traded points until UCR scored five in a row to go back up 77-68.
A traditional three-point play from Keonte Jones made it a 77-71 game, but CSUN went the next two minutes without a point. The Highlanders capitalized with a 7-0 run as Hargress sank a three for an 84-71 lead. Scotty Washington knocked down a three of his own moments later, but UCR continued to answer each time. Hargress hit a pull up jumper before Smith knocked down a corner three to push the lead to 89-75 and put the game out of reach.
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GAME NOTES
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"They played great. They hit shots when they need to hit shots. Our defense wasn't what it usually is. I don't know why that was, certainly an anomaly for us to not come in for a game like this and not give our best effort."
UP NEXT
CSUN closes the regular season on Senior Night this Saturday at Premier America Credit Union Arena against Hawai'i. Tip off is slated for 5 p.m. on ESPN+. The Matadors will honor four seniors in a pre-game ceremony.
#GoMatadors
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HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN struggled throughout the first half from the floor, missing its first nine shots to start the game. Fuller knocked down CSUN's first field goal at the 15:22 mark of the first half to pull the Matadors to within 8-4. UCR though went on an 8-2 spurt with Nate Pickens pushing the lead to double digits at 16-6. The lead swelled to 14 at 22-8 when Kaleb Smith knocked down a jumper then Barrington Hargress sank a three for a 25-10 lead at the midway point of the first half. CSUN would trail by as many as 19 points near the six-minute mark before rallying down the stretch of the first half. The Matadors would go on an 11-2 run with Adams cutting the lead to 38-28. Smith hit a three for UCR, not before another 11-2 Matador run with Adams closing that run as well with a three. Hargress though hit a late three to end the half, pushing the lead to 46-39 at intermission.
The Matadors would come up empty on their first four possessions to start the second half until Fuller ended the string with a jumper. Fuller would score again moments later on a floater to bring CSUN to within 51-44. The Matadors clawed to within six at the free throw line, but the Highlanders kept answering with timely baskets as Niyi Olabode hit a three. CSUN would pull to within five twice, first on an Adams layup then a Tyler Beard basket, however, UCR scored on its ensuing possession each time. Isaiah Moses scored an easy two to push the lead to 66-57, only to see Beard answer with a three seconds later. CSUN would creep closer on a Fuller field goal and two free throws from Fofana to pull to within 68-64 with 8:16 to go. The teams traded points until UCR scored five in a row to go back up 77-68.
A traditional three-point play from Keonte Jones made it a 77-71 game, but CSUN went the next two minutes without a point. The Highlanders capitalized with a 7-0 run as Hargress sank a three for an 84-71 lead. Scotty Washington knocked down a three of his own moments later, but UCR continued to answer each time. Hargress hit a pull up jumper before Smith knocked down a corner three to push the lead to 89-75 and put the game out of reach.
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GAME NOTES
- CSUN drops to 21-9 overall and 13-6 in Big West while UC Riverside improves to 20-11 overall and 13-6 in conference.
- The Matadors shot 36.4 percent overall while making 7-of-18 threes (38.9 percent) and 24-of-37 free throws (64.9 percent). The Highlanders would shoot 46.8 percent overall while hitting 11-of-27 threes (40.7 percent) and 25-of-29 free throws (86.2 percent).
- UC Riverside out-rebounded CSUN 45-38 overall as the Matadors lost the rebound battle for just the third time this season.
- Also scoring in double figures for CSUN were Beard (12) and Washington (11).
- Jones had a team-high eight rebounds to go with eight points.
ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"They played great. They hit shots when they need to hit shots. Our defense wasn't what it usually is. I don't know why that was, certainly an anomaly for us to not come in for a game like this and not give our best effort."
UP NEXT
CSUN closes the regular season on Senior Night this Saturday at Premier America Credit Union Arena against Hawai'i. Tip off is slated for 5 p.m. on ESPN+. The Matadors will honor four seniors in a pre-game ceremony.
#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
CSUN
UCR
FG%
.364
.468
3FG%
.389
.407
FT%
.649
.862
RB
39
44
TO
9
11
STL
4
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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