A second-half rally for Cal Poly Men’s Basketball fell just short as they fell 102-91 to CSU Northridge on Saturday at Mott Athletics Center.
The Mustangs (5-6, 0-2 Big West) were dominated in the key by the Matadors (7-3, 1-1 Big West), giving up 54 points in the paint.
With graduate guard Jarred Hyder and senior guard Isaac Jessup out of the lineup for the second straight game, Cal Poly’s offense looked out of tune in the first half.
Cal Poly had 10 turnovers and shot a paltry 26% from the field in the first half of play. That included a 6-for-27 mark from behind the arc, which was the majority of the shots taken.
The rest of the contest wouldn’t be as simple for the Matadors as it would seem. Cal Poly stuck around outscoring CSUN 57-51 in the second half.
The Matadors extended their 17-point lead to 24 points before the Mustangs got to work.
It was a drastic difference in the second half as the Green and Gold improved their shooting clip to 55.5% from the field and 37.5% from the three-point line while limiting their turnovers to seven.
“It’s still a young group in terms of knowing the system,” graduate swingman Owen Koonce said. “We have a bunch of veterans but I just think it’s going to take time to learn.”
A 15-3 run by Cal Poly with 10 minutes left in the game brought the lead to just nine.
Freshman guard Peter Bandelj scored nine of his 15 points in the second half before fouling out on three consecutive fouls with six minutes to play.
“Peter’s got a really competitive spirit and he could pretty much do everything you want him to do on a basketball court,” head coach Mike DeGeorge said. “He’s got a really high basketball IQ… as he continues to embrace our system more and more he’ll continue to have more and more success.”
Cal Poly continued to battle, making it a one-possession game before PJ Fuller II seemingly iced the game with just under two minutes to play.
Despite the Mustangs hitting some quick baskets in transition, time eventually ran out on their comeback attempt.
Freshman guard Guzman Vasilic made the most of his extended minutes with Hyder and Jessup out, with a career-high 16 points.
Koonce had a double-double with a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds, while graduate guard Mac Riniker pitched in 14.
Cal Poly gets a break from Big West play as they head up to San Jose to take on San Jose State on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 7 p.m. at the Provident Credit Union Event Center.
