CSUN Drops Senior Night Matchup with Cal State Fullerton

Saturday, March 7

Northridge, Calif.

5:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

19-13,12-8Big West

Cal State Fullerton

17-15,12-8Big West

Cal St. Fullerton

CSUN

Photo by: Chuck Marvel

CSUN Drops Senior Night Matchup with Cal State Fullerton

3/7/2026 8:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball could not hold on to a late lead as Cal State Fullerton scored the game's final 15 points en route to a 90-77 victory, spoiling Senior Night on Saturday at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Larry Hughes II and Josiah Davis each finished with 21 points while Joshua O'Garro added 11 points.

Despite the result, CSUN has clinched a No. 4 seed in the 2026 Big West Championship and will earn a first-round bye in the tournament.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Matadors began the game, scoring six of the first seven points as CSUN led for nearly the entire first half. Davis drilled a three-pointer near the midway point of the first half, sparking a 7-2 run that extended the lead to 20-14. The Matadors held a 24-17 lead when Davis set up Mahmoud Fofana for a drive to the basket with 7:10 left in the first period. However, the Titans, who lead the Big West in scoring, kept battling back. Cal State Fullerton would even the game at 28-28 on a Christian Williams threen to close a 6-0 run. Fullerton grabbed its first lead at 34-32 after back-to-back threes while the Titans took a three-point lead to halftime (39-36) following a buzzer beater from KJ Garris.

Out of intermission, the Matadors raced into the lead behind seven straight points with O'Garro capping the run with a three. The Titans scored the next six points, but CSUN answered with a 5-0 run behind a Davius Loury three and an O'Garro layup for a 48-45 lead. The teams traded the lead 10 times in the second half, but the Titans would open an eight-point lead at 68-60 following an 8-2 run with 11:00 to play. The Matadors though countered with a 13-5 spurt to square the game at 73-73. Davis put CSUN ahead 77-75 at the free throw line with 4:17 to play, but that would be the last time the Matadors scored on the night. Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro quickly hit a three to put the Titans on top. CSUN would miss its final 11 shots from the field and not record a field goal for the final 7:59 of the game. Meanwhile, Fullerton finished on a 15-0 run. Williams made the Titans' 18th three of the night in the final seconds to punctuate the win.

NOTES OF THE GAME

CSUN drops to 19-13 overall and 12-8 in Big West play while Cal State Fullerton improves to 17-15 overall and 12-8 in conference.
The Matadors shot 37.7 percent overall, hitting 8-of-32 from three (25.0 percent) with 23-of-28 makes at the free throw line (82.1 percent). The Titans finished at 44.8 percent, making 18-of-47 threes (38.3 percent) and 12-of-19 free throws (63.2 percent).
CSUN out-rebounded Fullerton 46-35 overall.
The Titans had a 13-6 advantage in steals with 30 points off turnovers compared to just eight for CSUN.
Davis finished with a double-double, tallying 13 assists to go with seven rebounds.
Fofana moved into 10th place in CSUN history on the career rebounds list, reaching 591 total boards.
O'Garro has now collected the 10th-most rebounds for a single season at 290.
CSUN honored seven seniors consisting of Fofana, O'Garro, Davis, Jordan Brinson, Grady Lewis, Robert Thibiant and Joseph Barrio along with senior team manager Damion McDowell prior to the game.
For Fullerton, Williams had 23 points to go with five made threes.

ACCORDING TO COACH ANDY NEWMAN
"They made shots. We didn't make shots. We're having a hard time defending in the second half. We turned the ball over, we're kind of out of sync right now, and a tough place to be going into the tournament. We need to play better basketball."

UP NEXT
CSUN will turn its attention to the 2026 Big West Championship at Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, Nev. The Matadors have advanced to the second round of the tournament and will play Thursday at 6:30 p.m. against either UC San Diego or Cal Poly.

#GoMatadors