Cal Poly Men’s Basketball snapped the third-longest Division-I conference losing streak by defeating Long Beach State 78-69 on Saturday at Mott Athletics Center.
Their Big West Conference losing streak ends at 46 games, third all-time behind Colgate (47) and the University of Chicago (60).
For the Mustangs (7-14, 1-8 Big West), it was their first conference win since Dec. 29, 2022, when they defeated CSU Northridge at home. The Beach (7-14, 3-6 Big West) were led by Devin Askew’s 35 points and seven rebound performance.
“We put together quite the losing streak there,” graduate guard Owen Koonce said. “It definitely feels very good to break that.”
It was a wire-to-wire win for Cal Poly, who scored first a minute in and never gave the lead up at any point.
Both sides of the ball were clicking early for the Mustangs, with the Beach scoring their tenth point halfway through the opening frame after a Cal Poly 8-0 run to start the game.
Cal Poly eschewed their usual three-point barrage in the first half, only shooting six. However, it was one of their better starts to a game all season.
“They really focused on taking threes away,” graduate guard Jarred Hyder said. “We knew if they were taking that away we had to try and get a presence in the paint much more.”
The Mustangs relentlessly attacked the rim, with 28 points in the paint in the first half.
The Mustangs had eight steals and a 40-28 lead at the break.
After halftime, Long Beach rallied, cutting the lead to five points on a duo run by Askew and Derrick Xzavierro.
“Start of the second half we had some breakdowns we hadn’t had otherwise,” head coach Mike DeGeorge said.
Senior guard Mac Riniker picked up three quick fouls in succession in the second half, forcing him to the bench after being a spark plug for the offense and defense.
A quick foul after checking back in resulted in Riniker fouling out with five to play, allowing the Beach to threaten to make it close, but Cal Poly was able to make their free throws down the stretch and take home their first conference victory in 758 days.
Hyder, Riniker and Koonce all had 15 or more points, with Hyder hitting five threes.
The Mustangs hoisted 15 three-point attempts, their lowest all season, but they shot an efficient 40% from behind the arc.
The Mustangs look to build upon their momentum as they travel to Bakersfield to take on the Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday, Jan. 30, at 6:30 pm.
