CSUN Pulls Away from UC Riverside to Notch Fourth Straight Win

Saturday, February 7

Northridge, Calif.

1:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

15-10,8-5Big West

UC Riverside

8-17,3-10Big West

UC Riverside

CSUN

Photo by: Chuck Marvel

CSUN Pulls Away from UC Riverside to Notch Fourth Straight Win

2/7/2026 3:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball won its fourth straight, knocking off UC Riverside 88-74 on Saturday at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Larry Hughes II scored a team-high 18 points while the trio of Joshua O'Garro, Josiah Davis and James Evans Jr had 17 points apiece. Mahmoud Fofana chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds. The Matadors broke open a tie midway through the second half and led by as many as 20 points down the stretch.

HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN opened the game on an Evans three before UC Riverside followed with a 9-0 run to go in front. The Matadors trailed by as many as seven points in the early going (14-7) before mounting a 7-2 run with Evans scoring all seven of those points. Beginning at the 13-minute mark, CSUN went on a 9-0 run, capped by a Fofana layup, set up by a Davius Loury steal, for a 23-18 Matador lead. CSUN went ahead by six at 26-20 only to see the Highlanders score the next eights points as Marqui Worthy put his team ahead 28-26. Worthy would shoulder the load offensively for the Highlanders, scoring 23 points in the first half including a bucket at the 6:02 mark that began a 6-0 UCR run. Trailing 34-28, CSUN went on a surge to end the first half as the Matadors made five of their final seven shots over a 14-2 run. Evans capped off a 17-point first half with a three to propel CSUN to a 42-36 lead at the break.

Can't leave @_nolimitjames THAT wide open.

He's 3-of-3 from long range with 17 total points in the first half.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/qQiuYmN2bj
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) February 7, 2026

Despite the run to close the half, CSUN could not put away UC Riverside in the early minutes of the second half. The Highlanders went on a 10-2 run out of the gate with Worthy scoring in the paint for a UCR 46-44 advantage. CSUN would reclaim the lead at 54-51 on back-to-back baskets from Davis, but the Highlanders squared the game once more at 56-56 when Worthy drilled a three with 11:00 to play. The Matadors though took control from then on, beginning with an O'Garro layup inside. Jordan Brinson followed with a corner three before Hughes hit back-to-back from distance to cap an 11-0 run that extended the lead to 67-56. CSUN kept up the pressure with 6-0 and 9-0 runs down the stretch, pushing its advantage to 86-66 after Fofana scored on a layup. Davis capped the scoring for the contest with a drive to hoop, punctuating a 32-15 run down the stretch.

His number is 2? but it should probably be 3?.@Sn1perSmooth drills his third triple as CSUN extends its advantage to 11.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/1Pm353R9Lk
— CSUN Men's Basketball (@CSUNMBB) February 7, 2026

NOTES OF THE GAME

CSUN improved to 15-10 overall and 8-5 in Big West play while UC Riverside dropped to 8-17 overall and 3-10 in conference.
The Matadors shot 58.3 percent overall while going 8-of-13 from three (61.5 percent) and 10-of-22 at the free throw line (45.5 percent). The Highlanders were held to 37.7 percent shooting, making 10-of-38 from three (26.3 percent) and 12-of-13 from the free throw line (92.3 percent).
The teams finished even at 37-37 in rebounds.
CSUN led in points in the paint, 50-30, as well as in points off turnovers, 21-10.
Davis added eight assists to go with his 17 points.
Evans was 3-of-3 from three-point range.
Brinson chipped in with six assists along with three points off the bench.
For UCR, Worthy had a game-high 36 points.

ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"That's a good team, they are scary. They've got guys that can score, those two guys are good, [Andrew] Henderson and Worthy. We were very fortunate to get out of this with a win. It was one of those games, it was up and down. I give credit to our guys. When it comes to winning time, they got locked in and they got it done."

UP NEXT
CSUN stays at home to take on Hawai'i next Saturday, Feb. 14 at 5 p.m. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call at ESPN+.

#GoMatadors