Cal Poly Men’s Basketball was tied with Stanford at 82 apiece with 90 seconds to play against as the Mustangs needed someone to hit a big shot.
After six passes, the ball moved like a hot potato from the top to the elbow, swinging to the corner and entering the high post.
The Mustangs pass the ball from the post to the right elbow right in front of the Mustang bench to graduate guard Jarred Hyder.
Hyder is three steps behind the three-point line, but it doesn’t matter. Cal Poly goes up by three and has all the momentum to pull out a historic win for the program.
Cal Poly Men’s Basketball hit the road after a short one-game homestand, traveling north and riding a 63-point second half to top Stanford 97-90 at the Maples Pavilion.
This victory marks the first time in program history that the Mustangs (5-4) grabbed a win over an ACC Conference opponent in the Cardinal (6-2).
This victory breaks a 49-year losing drought to Stanford, dating back to 1976. It also earns Cal Poly its first win over a Power 4 university since November 5, 2012, when it defeated the No. 11 UCLA Bruins.
In his first nine games at Cal Poly, head coach Mike DeGeorge has the Mustangs re-writing the record books and proving they can compete with high-level programs.
DeGeorge gave all the credit and praise to his players after the historic win.
“We are beginning to sustain our identity and assert our will on a bigger and more physical team,” DeGeorge said. “We’re gaining confidence moving forward and this is a quality win for the team.”
The Cal Poly identity featured a trifecta of weapons tonight. Leading the squad was graduate forward Owen Koonce.
Koonce notched a career-high 30 points on the night. He shot a 12-for-16 clip from everywhere on the court. Koonce’s signature midrange was on fire, and he had no problem driving to the rack with finesse or power. He also knocked down three three-pointers.
Senior guard Issac Jessup helped the cause.
Though the Mustangs were scoring in bunches, so were the Cardinal. Cal Poly held the lead only one time in the opening minutes of the game, but that all changed when Jessup hit a hot streak.
With 5:40 left in the game, Jessup hit three straight three-pointers, propelling Cal Poly to a 9-2 run and grabbing a two-point lead.
Jessup knocked down five three-pointers and added 21 points, burying Stanford with the long ball.
Graduate guard Mac Riniker once again set a tone for the Mustangs with his physical bursts. Riniker had three tenacious layups where he made the shot and got fouled, which provided a spark for the Cal Poly offense.
Riniker finished with 12 points in the contest.
Despite all this offense, Stanford was still hanging around and felt like they could go on a run at any time.
After some free throws and a fast break layup, the Mustangs finally pull away from the resilient Cardinal squad and embrace the fans in this monumental victory.
This is Cal Poly’s second road win this year as they look to take the momentum into Big West Conference play on the road again to take on the UC Davis Aggies on Thursday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. at the University Credit Union Center.
