Following two tumultuous seasons that featured losing streaks of 18 and 20 games, respectively, Cal Poly Men’s Basketball was set to undergo a complete overhaul.
As their leading scorer from last year, Kobe Sanders, departed to Nevada, and the team decided to part ways with head coach John Smith, change was incoming fast for the Mustangs.
On March 26, Cal Poly hired Mike DeGeorge as the Mustangs’ new head coach.
With his philosophy of pushing the pace and aiming to shoot only threes and layups, the Mustangs were set to experience a renaissance in offensive output.
Though they lost 86-78 in their season opener against the University of San Francisco, DeGeorge’s coaching style made itself prevalent in a game that went down to the wire.
Over the course of the contest, Cal Poly shot 34 three-pointers.
The Mustangs weren’t just chucking them, either. Last year, Cal Poly made 6.2 threes per game.
The Mustangs made six in just the first half of their 2024-25 season opener.
Overall, Cal Poly shot 35% from three, finding good shots early in the shot clock along with some deep threes from graduate student point guard Jarred Hyder.
The Mustangs also crashed the glass, grabbing 10 offensive rebounds, which created key second chances for Cal Poly.
DeGeorge’s game plan worked well for the Mustangs, who stayed within reach of San Francisco throughout most of the contest.
With 27 seconds remaining, the score was 82-78 in favor of the Dons. San Francisco hit their free throws, and Cal Poly couldn’t hit their final shots, finishing the game 86-78.
Though it was a loss, the Mustangs defied the odds as they were expected to lose by 20.5 points. They executed DeGeorge’s game plan well and lost by a much smaller margin than they were expected to, despite having 17 turnovers.
San Francisco coach Chris Gerlufsen gave Cal Poly props in his post-game interview with ESPN+.
“They certainly punched us in the mouth,” Gerlufsen said. “I give them a lot of credit, coming off of a four win season, to be able to come in here under a new coach. I told them after the game, they played as hard as anyone we’ve played as long as I’ve been here.”
Four Mustangs finished in double figures, Hyder leading the pack with 19 points. His fellow graduate guard Owen Koonce wasn’t far behind, scoring 18 points in his first appearance for Cal Poly.
Koonce is one of several transfers from DeGeorge’s former school, Colorado Mesa, who came to Cal Poly during the offseason.
The Mustangs’ new players made an impact, as sophomore Kieran Elliot, a West Texas A&M transfer, also added 13 points in the game.
Cal Poly will continue its road trip as it heads to Haas Pavilion to face Cal on Thursday, Nov. 7th, at 7 p.m.