CSUN Continues Big West Play Against Cal Poly and UC Riverside

Thursday, February 5

San Luis Obispo, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

Cal Poly

Photo by: Chuck Marvel

CSUN Continues Big West Play Against Cal Poly and UC Riverside

2/4/2026 11:15:00 AM | Men's Basketball

MBB Game Notes - Feb. 4

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball continues the second half of Big West play this week with the Matadors traveling to Cal Poly on Thursday at 7 p.m. on ESPN+. The week concludes with a Saturday afternoon matchup with UC Riverside at 1 p.m. on Spectrum SportsNet. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call at GoMatadors.com/Radio.

FOR STARTERS
Only nine games remain in the regular season with CSUN (13-10, 6-5 Big West) currently tied for fourth place with UC Davis in the Big West standings at 6-5 conference records each. UC Irvine leads the league at 8-2 followed by Hawai'i and UC Santa Barbara with 8-3 records. The trio of UC San Diego, Cal State Fullerton and Cal Poly are tied for fifth with 5-6 records each.

ABOUT LAST WEEK
CSUN held serve at home last week, defeating UC Davis 94-78 on Thursday and UC San Diego 81-64 on Saturday at Premier America Credit Union Arena.

The Matadors had five score in double figures and two record double-doubles in a double-digit win over UC Davis. Mahmoud Fofana posted 22 points and 10 rebounds while Joshua O'Garro totaled 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the way. The Matadors trailed by a 48-44 score at halftime but went on to hold UC Davis to 29 percent shooting in the second half and outscored the opposition 50-30 in the period. Larry Hughes II would give CSUN a lift with 17 points while Grady Lewis had 11 points off the bench on 5-of-5 shooting and James Evans Jr. chipped in 10 points.

CSUN closed the week with a 17-point win over UC San Diego, sweeping the season series for the first time in team history. Five again scored in double figures with Fofana posting another 22-point, 10-rebound performance. Off the bench, Jai Chisolm had 11 points and Jordan Brinson had 10 points while Josiah Davis finished with 10 points and 10 assists and Hughes chipped in 11 points. After seeing a 17-point lead slip to three in the second half, the Matadors took control with a 17-6 run and went on to lead by 18 points in the closing moments of the win.

FOFANA TAKES HOME BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Senior Mahmoud Fofana received his first career Big West Player of the Week award on Feb. 2. Fofana averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 76.2 percent (16-of-21) in wins over UC Davis and UC San Diego. He would make 8-of-10 shots and score 15 of his 22 points in the second half against the Aggies while he converted on 8-of-11 shots overall versus the Tritons with 17 of his points coming in the final 20 minutes. Fofana is the second Matador to earn Big West Player of the Week honors this season, joining Larry Hughes II, who won the award on Dec. 15.

MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF
Senior guard Larry Hughes II has enjoyed a career season in his first year with CSUN. Hughes has led the team in scoring throughout the season, posting the third-best average in the Big West at 18.1. Hughes also tops the Big West and ranks 19th overall in the nation in 3-point field goals made per game (3.3). His 73 made threes are the sixth-most in school history while he is five treys away from entering the top five on the list. No slouch on the defensive end, Hughes is tied for fourth place in the Big West in steals per game at 1.8.

OWNING THE GLASS
CSUN remains the Big West leader in rebounding, totaling 42.1 per game, good enough for ninth-best in the nation. The Matadors, who have also led the Big West in rebounding each of the last two seasons, are tops in the league in rebound margin (+6.7) and offensive rebounds per game (13.5) along with second in defensive rebounds per game (28.6). CSUN boasts two of the top three rebounders in the Big West on its squad as Joshua O'Garro sits in first place at 9.6 per game and Mahmoud Fofana ranks third at 8.0 per game. O'Garro, who scores 14.2 points per game, has averaged 7.9 defensive rebounds and registered 11 double-doubles, which rank fourth and 13th in the nation, respectively. Fofana is the Matadors' top offensive rebounder, posting 3.1 per game.

THE ASSIST MAN
Josiah Davis has taken the reigns of the point guard position this season and gone on to lead the Big West in assists. His league-leading 162 assists and 7.0 assists per game are among the best in the nation, ranking third and eighth in Division I basketball, respectively. Davis has already etched his name in CSUN history this season, tying the single-game record for assists with 15 in two separate games. Overall, Davis has dished out the fifth-most assists in a season in school history with 162 helpers. While his playmaking has been impressive, Davis has also averaged the third-most points on the team at 13.7 per game, which is also a new career high.

SCOUTING CAL POLY
The Mustangs are 9-14 overall and 5-6 in Big West play. After dropping three straight, Cal Poly came away with two wins last week on the road at Cal State Bakersfield (104-79) and UC Riverside (94-87). Overall, the Mustangs are 4-5 at Mott Athletics Center this season. The team leads the Big West in 3-pointers made per game, hitting 10.7 per game while the Mustangs rank third in scoring offense at 81.5 points. Hamad Mousa remains the Big West leader in scoring average at 20.6 point to go with averaging a team-high 6.0 rebounds. Other double-digit scorers include Cayden Ward (14.3) and Peter Bandelj (13.7).

Series History: The Matadors are 59-57 against Cal Poly all-time with wins in six straight meetings. CSUN took the first meeting of this season on Jan. 8 behind 23 points and 15 assists from Josiah Davis. Over the last five matchups in San Luis Obispo, CSUN has won four times.

SCOUTING UC RIVERSIDE
UCR comes in 8-15 overall and 3-8 in Big West play. The Highlanders picked up a 71-61 win over Long Beach State last Thursday before falling to Cal Poly 94-87 on Saturday. Overall, UCR is 3-10 away from home this year. UC Riverside ranks third in the Big West in blocks per game at 4.0 while the team averages 72.2 points against 77.7 points per game allowed. Andrew Henderson tops the team and ranks fourth in the Big West in scoring at 17.3 points per game to go with a conference-best 141 field goals made. Marqui Worthy is averaging 14.9 points as the team's second-leading scorer followed by Osiris Grady at 11.7 points.

Series History: CSUN holds a 47-45 edge over UC Riverside in the all-time series. Since 2021, UCR has won nine of the last 10 meetings including sweeping the season series last year. The Matadors' last win over UCR came on Feb. 3, 2024 by a 76-70 score.

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