Coming off a 40-point loss to UCSB and 2-8 in their last 10 games, Cal Poly Men’s basketball desperately needed a win to put them back on track with Big West conference play in full swing.
Instead, Cal State Fullerton entered Mott Athletics Center and delivered another crushing blow to the Mustangs on Saturday afternoon, winning by a final score of 93-78.
The Mustangs (7-14, 3-6 Big West) only led for just over three minutes in the game and couldn’t match the intensity of the Titans (10-12, 5-5 Big West), who forced 19 turnovers.
Junior guard Jackson Mosley scored a career-high 15 points, continuing his consistent production after earning a bigger role in the rotation two weeks ago against UC Davis.
Turnovers were the biggest difference in the game as the Mustangs only forced three, leading to a lopsided 19 to eight difference in points-off-turnovers. In a game where both teams’ shooting splits were relatively even, turnovers and a 10-point advantage at the free-throw line changed the game.
“[Fullerton are] very active defensively, and they have really good athletes, and they’re physical,” coach Mike DeGeorge said. “The way the game was officiated allowed a lot of physicality, and that did create some turnovers, and so that was certainly part of it.”
Freshman forward Jess Esso Essis played in his first game of the season after rehabbing from an injury, and made the most of his 17 minutes of play. Esso Essis scored 12 points and grabbed four rebounds, shooting 4-6 from deep. The six-foot-ten freshman from Le Mans, France adds a different element to the team as a stretch-big who flashed some playmaking potential as well.
After playing for multiple teams in the first-division of French professional basketball, Esso Essis fulfilled the dream of playing in his first collegiate game.
“That was very good,” Esso Essis said. “That was very good to play with my guys.”
Esso Essis aims to play a vital role in the rotation going forward, and his production could be just what a struggling team like Cal Poly needs.
“I think I just need to add a boost,” Esso Essis said. “You know, a second [level] to the team.”
Sophomore Cayden Ward scored a team-high 20 points, shooting 50% from the field and the three-point line. As one of the key leaders on the team, Ward knows keeping the team morale afloat is key to turning the ship around.
“It’s just gonna take everybody buying into our process. Just because we’re losing a couple of games, doesn’t mean we’re gonna let that just spiral into even more games,” Ward said. “Just gotta bounce back, and then everybody has to be committed.”
From a coaches perspective, DeGeorge says that mixing things up is the key to getting a young team to figure things out.
“We don’t know exactly what we’re going to get from anybody at any given time right now,” DeGeorge said. “When teams start struggling like this, we were just telling the team this, sometimes you lose confidence, and sometimes you try to go alone and try to figure out a solution. And neither one of those things are a solution to the problem.”
Getting the team healthy and maintaining a strong level of focus are the two goals that DeGeorge has in the interim.
“We’re, you know, playing terrible,” DeGeorge said. “It’s never as bad or as good as it seems. And so as much as you can, just trying to keep them on course and committed to what we’re doing.”
Cal Poly’s next opportunity to refocus will come away against Cal State Bakersfield, on Thursday, Jan 31 at 6:30 p.m.