Cal Poly Men’s Basketball extended their Big West Conference regular-season losing streak to 46 straight games on Saturday in an explosive offensive affair 101-71.
The Anteaters (17-2, 7-0 Big West) have been on a roll all season long and are receiving votes for the National Top 25 poll, the Mustangs (6-14, 0-8 Big West) would need to execute at a high level to put them in the win column.
The last time they faced off was Sunday, Jan. 5, when the Mustangs put up a highly competitive fight, losing in overtime 98-89.
UC Irvine shot 54% from the field against a Mustang defense that allows the most points in the Big West at 85.3 points per game.
On the other end, Cal Poly’s offense had difficulty getting anything outside of three-point shooting.
The Mustangs knocked down 12 three-pointers, providing a respectable perimeter attack, but they finished the game only hitting 35% of their shots.
Shooting didn’t make up the only miscues for the Green and Gold.
Cal Poly committed 20 turnovers in the contest, resulting in 23 points off turnovers for UC Irvine.
Taking care of the ball has been a consistent weakness for the Mustangs, partly because of their fast-paced playstyle but also due to recklessness.
The Mustangs average the third most turnovers in the nation with 17.1.
A bright spot for Cal Poly’s night was the career-high offensive performance of true freshman point guard Cayden Ward.
Ward came off the bench, scoring 15 points in only 15 minutes of game action. He added eight rebounds to the box score as well.
The Stockton, Calif. native has seen an uptick of playtime in recent games, with head coach Mike DeGeorge looking for a spark to get the team going. Ward is now up to five points per game in the season.
Freshman Peter Bandelj added 15 points for the Mustangs, matching Ward and pacing the team.
Cal Poly will look to finally snap their conference losing streak when they host Long Beach State on Saturday, Jan. 25 at Mott Athletics Center.
