CSUN Falls Just Short to Wichita State in Season Opener

Wednesday, November 4

Wichita, Kan.

4:30 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

0-1,0-0Big West

Wichita State

1-0,0-0American

Team	1	2	F
CSUN	40	27	67
Wichita St.	47	32	79

11/4/2026 7:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WICHITA, Kan.---CSUN Men's Basketball gave Wichita State a battle on opening night, but the Matadors fell just short in a 79-67 defeat on Wednesday at Charles Koch Arena. Mikah Ballew led the way with 17 points and five rebounds in his Matador debut while Josiah Davis added 15 points and six assists.

CSUN would trail by just a 63-62 margin with less than six minutes to play, but the Shockers closed the game on an 16-5 run. Both teams were held under 40 percent from the field on the night as each side thrived on the defensive side of the ball.

HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN took its first lead of the night on a Davis driving layup for a 6-4 advantage with just over three minutes into the contest. A Ballew pullup jumper had the Matadors ahead 8-6 before the Shockers went on an 8-0 run, closed by a dunk from William Berg. CSUN though would no go away quietly on the night. Keziah Ekisski gave the Matadors a lift off the bench, going 3-for-3 from long range, including hitting one from long range to pull CSUN to within 16-14 with 12:53 on the clock.

After the Matadors drew to within two points twice more, Wichita State extended to a 28-21 with 8:37 left before halftime. CSUN responded with a 13-8 spurt with Ekissi draining another three at the four-minute mark to make it a 36-34 Shocker lead. The Matadors trailed by that same margin at 42-40 with 1:47 to go before the Shockers ended the half with five straight points, as Kenyon Giles hit a three for a 47-40 edge.

Ballew gave the Matadors 11 of his 17 points in the second half, as he drilled a pair of early jumpers to get the second half going. Daniel Culberson and Ballew hit back-to-back shots to pull the Matadors to within 60-58 with 11:50 on the clock. A strong Matador defensive stand kept the Shockers to one point over five minutes near the midway portion of the half while a putback layup from Caleb Smith made it a 61-60 game with less than eight minutes to play. However, the Matadors could not reclaim the lead down the stretch.

After BJ Omot cut the deficit to 63-62 at the free throw line, Wichita State scored the next six points. A Bryce Heard layup extended the lead further to 71-63 with 3:13 left. Davis accounted for CSUN's only field goal over the last seven minutes of play while a late jumper from Giles helped put the game out of reach with a late jumper.

NOTES OF THE GAME

CSUN shot 36.4 percent overall while going 5-for-21 from three (23.8 percent) and 14-of-23 from the free throw line (60.9 percent). After shooting 46.9 percent in the first half, the Matadors were limited to 26.5 percent shooting in the second half.
Wichita State shot 37.3 percent overall while finishing 8-of-27 from three (29.6 percent) and 15-of-22 from the free throw line (68.2 percent).
The Shockers only had three turnovers in the contest compared to 11 for the Matadors.
The Matadors out-rebounded the Shockers 48-46 overall. CSUN finished with a 15-9 edge in second chance points.
CSUN also held a 21-8 advantage in bench points.
Ekissi had 11 points off the bench for CSUN as he went 4-for-5 from the field in his Matador debut.
Newcomer Brooklyn Hicks grabbed a team-high nine rebounds while Smith had seven to go with five points.
For Wichita State, Berg had a game-high 26 points with 16 rebounds.

ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"We were right there. A one possession game, all the way through until the five-minute mark. We played good enough defensively, but we just couldn't score, and I think we had some good enough looks. I thought Josiah had some really good looks at the basket, and we just didn't convert. Had some good shots, guys played their butts off, just didn't make enough shots down the stretch to stay up with them. I was really proud of our guys for their defensive effort. The guys played great, came here into a hostile environment, defended their butts off and out-rebounded a very physical and big team. There are some bright spots, but there are no moral victories in this program. We're all disappointed with the result and know we've got to work to get better. That's what were going to do."

UP NEXT
CSUN stays on the road to take on Kansas State on Friday at 6 p.m. PT on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan has the call in an audio broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio.

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