Even though the Cal Poly men’s basketball team has struggled through a 7-17 season and may miss the Big West Conference Tournament, the year hasn’t been a total loss for the Mustangs.
In their 75-73 loss to UC Davis on Wednesday, sophomore guard Shawn Lewis had a career-high 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting.
Three days later, he had a game-high 21 points and threw down the final, game-sealing points in the closing seconds of a 66-62 win over South Dakota State (see the picture to the right).
Lewis, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound product of Bishop O’Dowd High in Oakland, looks ready to capitalize on the promise he flashed as an All-Big West Freshman Team selection a year ago.
He’s started all of Cal Poly’s 24 games, posting 11.3 points per game.
What must be most encouraging for the Mustangs, though, is the all-around game he seems to have developed to complement his high-flying act.
He’s shooting 36.5 percent from 3-point range and 80.8 percent from the free-throw line.
Additionally, he’s pulling down 4.6 rebounds a game — third-best on the team.
In the prep ranks, as a power forward he was called “one of the premiere sky walkers in Northern California” by Rivals.com.
He led the Dragons to the Division III state title game and flushed highlight-reel jams like this and this en route to third-team all-state honors.
How good could he be next year, or two years from now?