Led by a 23-point effort from senior center Alimamy Koroma, Cal Poly men’s basketball took down the University of Idaho, 82-71, on Wednesday, Nov. 23 inside Mott Athletics Center.
The 82 points for the Mustangs (2-3) is a season-high, as the Vandals (2-4) kept up at times on the offensive end, but they couldn’t keep up in the second half.
In the first half, the Mustangs forced seven turnovers while four players tallied a steal. However, the Vandals stayed in the game with their three-point shooting, going 4-of-5 from deep, and their ability to get to the line, going 8-for-10.
The Cal Poly offense shot an efficient 59% in the first 20 minutes, converting on 16-of-27 attempts. Junior guard Brantly Stevenson was perfect in the first half, going 4-for-4 from the field and hitting two free throws for 10 points.
Senior forward Trevon Taylor added nine points of his own in the first half, as Stevenson and Taylor got into the paint and finished over the defense
Foul trouble was an issue for both teams, especially for the big men.
Koroma picked up two fouls in the first half, which held him to nine minutes to open the game while his backup, junior center Bryan Penn-Johnson, committed three fouls and fouled out in the second half. Meanwhile, the Vandals’ center and leading scorer, Isaac Jones, finished with four fouls.
With Jones on the bench with foul trouble to open the second half, Koroma went to work. The Mustang center scored 17 points to propel the team to a 12-0 run and build a double-digit lead that extended to 19 points.
The Vandals cut the lead down to 11 with under a minute to go, but the Mustangs held on for the win.
Koroma finished with 23 points, while junior point guard Camren Pierce added 15 points to go along with four assists.
Cal Poly will take on the University of Pacific at Alex G. Spanos Center on Monday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m.