Saturday, March 8
Northridge, Calif.
5:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
22-9,14-6Big West
82
vs
73
Hawai'i
15-16,7-13Big West
1
2
F
Hawaii
39
34
73
CSUN
38
44
82
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Ties School Record with 22nd Win, Tops Hawai'i, 82-73
3/8/2025 10:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball tied the program record for wins with its 22nd of the season in an 82-73 triumph over Hawai'i on Senior Night on Saturday at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Marcus Adams topped the team with 21 points and eight rebounds while senior Tyler Beard scored a season-high 19 points to go with six assists and six rebounds. Fellow senior PJ Fuller II reached 1,000 career points with a 16-point effort.
CSUN clinched the No. 4 seed in the 2025 Big West Championship with today's results. The win also clinched the Matadors first season sweep of Hawai'i in team history.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Matadors faced a battle from a Hawai'i team needing a win to qualify for the Big West Championship. Adams began the night with a basket on CSUN's first possession before the Rainbow Warriors scored the next five points. Beard would knock down a three to even the game at 7-7 while CSUN reclaimed the lead at 11-9 when Fuller threw down a dunk off a steal by Mahmoud Fofana. Tom Beattie gave Hawai'i a momentary lead on a three, but CSUN scored the next seven in a row with Adams drilling a three for an 18-12 lead. A pair of threes from Marcus Greene followed by a Gytis Nemeiksa three squared the game once more at 23-23 at the 8:35 mark. The lead would change hands four more times before a 9-0 Hawai'i run put the Bows on top 35-28. CSUN would trail 39-33 with 1:30 left in the first half, but the Matadors rallied with a 5-0 spurt to end the half as Scotty Washington cut the lead to 39-38 on a three.
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The Matadors would come out firing to start the second half with Fuller sinking back-to-back threes before scoring on a jumper in the lane to quickly put CSUN up 46-41. Hawai'i though stayed within striking distance with Nemeiksa scoring his team's first nine points of the second half. CSUN's lead stood at 51-50 until the Matadors put forth a big 12-0 run to turn the game around. The Matadors had five defensive stops during the run including forcing three turnovers while Fuller capped the scoring spree with a three for a 63-50 lead. Hawai'i made one last push near the midway point of the second half, pulling to within 65-57 on an Akira Jacobs three, but Beard answered that three with one of his own on the Matadors' ensuing possession. Moments later, Beard would sink another shot from distance at the 7:14 mark to keep the lead at double digits.
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Fuller reached the 1,000-point milestone for his career on a drive to the cup following a Washington steal while CSUN extended to its biggest lead of the night at 80-66 with 1:36 to go. The victory would be punctuated in the final minute of play when Adams put down a rim-rattling dunk.
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NOTES OF THE GAME
"It's all those players in that locker room. They played their hearts out this season for these fans and this school. So proud of the accomplishment that they had."
UP NEXT
CSUN sets its sights to the 2025 Big West Championship in Henderson, Nev. The Matadors have earned a bye to the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 13 where it will meet either No. 5 seed UC Santa Barbara or No. 8 seed Cal State Bakersfield. The quarterfinal game will tip off at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
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CSUN clinched the No. 4 seed in the 2025 Big West Championship with today's results. The win also clinched the Matadors first season sweep of Hawai'i in team history.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Matadors faced a battle from a Hawai'i team needing a win to qualify for the Big West Championship. Adams began the night with a basket on CSUN's first possession before the Rainbow Warriors scored the next five points. Beard would knock down a three to even the game at 7-7 while CSUN reclaimed the lead at 11-9 when Fuller threw down a dunk off a steal by Mahmoud Fofana. Tom Beattie gave Hawai'i a momentary lead on a three, but CSUN scored the next seven in a row with Adams drilling a three for an 18-12 lead. A pair of threes from Marcus Greene followed by a Gytis Nemeiksa three squared the game once more at 23-23 at the 8:35 mark. The lead would change hands four more times before a 9-0 Hawai'i run put the Bows on top 35-28. CSUN would trail 39-33 with 1:30 left in the first half, but the Matadors rallied with a 5-0 spurt to end the half as Scotty Washington cut the lead to 39-38 on a three.
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A Senior Night roll for PJ Fuller II.
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) March 9, 2025
CSUN has the lead early in the second half.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/9ugsk9qcvG
The Matadors would come out firing to start the second half with Fuller sinking back-to-back threes before scoring on a jumper in the lane to quickly put CSUN up 46-41. Hawai'i though stayed within striking distance with Nemeiksa scoring his team's first nine points of the second half. CSUN's lead stood at 51-50 until the Matadors put forth a big 12-0 run to turn the game around. The Matadors had five defensive stops during the run including forcing three turnovers while Fuller capped the scoring spree with a three for a 63-50 lead. Hawai'i made one last push near the midway point of the second half, pulling to within 65-57 on an Akira Jacobs three, but Beard answered that three with one of his own on the Matadors' ensuing possession. Moments later, Beard would sink another shot from distance at the 7:14 mark to keep the lead at double digits.
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BEARD GOING OFF!
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) March 9, 2025
Tyler has 18 points (4-4 3FG), 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/MfSQC9WRoQ
Fuller reached the 1,000-point milestone for his career on a drive to the cup following a Washington steal while CSUN extended to its biggest lead of the night at 80-66 with 1:36 to go. The victory would be punctuated in the final minute of play when Adams put down a rim-rattling dunk.
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The exclamation point from @marcusadams21??#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/QnTtDAI68y
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) March 9, 2025
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN improves to 22-9 overall and 14-6 in Big West play while Hawai'i falls to 15-16 overall and 7-13 in conference.
- The Matadors' 22 wins tie the school record for wins first established by the 1977-78 team and matched by the 2000-01 team. CSUN's .700 win percentage in conference play is also the program's best since the 2007-08 season.
- CSUN shot an even 50.0 percent for the night while making 10-of-18 threes (55.6 percent) and 10-of-17 free throws (58.8 percent). Hawai'i finished at 40.4 percent shooting to go with making 10-of-29 threes (34.5 percent) and 17-of-22 free throws (77.3 percent).
- Hawai'i finished with a 38-35 edge in rebounds.
- Washington also scored in double figures for CSUN with 13 points.
- CSUN honored a four-member senior class prior to the game consisting of Fuller, Beard, Festus Ndumanya and Judson Martindale, playing for the final time at home this season.
"It's all those players in that locker room. They played their hearts out this season for these fans and this school. So proud of the accomplishment that they had."
UP NEXT
CSUN sets its sights to the 2025 Big West Championship in Henderson, Nev. The Matadors have earned a bye to the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 13 where it will meet either No. 5 seed UC Santa Barbara or No. 8 seed Cal State Bakersfield. The quarterfinal game will tip off at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
Hawaii
CSUN
FG%
.404
.500
3FG%
.345
.556
FT%
.773
.588
RB
38
35
TO
14
10
STL
4
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG/F
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