For the first time in nearly 76 years, Cal Poly Men’s Basketball came out victorious against a Big-12 opponent as they took down the University of Utah while away at Jon M. Huntsman Center.
The Mustangs (3-3) snapped their two-game losing streak to hand the Utes (5-1) their first loss of the season with a dominating first half performance, featuring their best field goal and free throw percentages of the season. Sophomore guards Cayden Ward and Hamad Mousa led the charge en route to Cal Poly’s 92-85 victory over Utah.
In the first half, the Mustangs went down 5-0 early, but with a pair of layups and a 3-pointer from Ward and Mousa, they quickly recovered to take a 7-5 lead and never looked back for the rest of the game.
Ward had an electric night as he topped the charts for the Cal Poly offense, leading the team in points scored and in rebounds. The sophomore’s 28 points, eight rebounds, and 64.3% field goal percentage on the night were all season-highs.
Coming back into the lineup for the Mustangs was Mousa. Absent from the eight point loss to Montana, Cal Poly’s leading scorer had a huge hand in the win as he notched 26 points and went four for four from the three-point line.
Like Ward, Mousa had a couple season-highs in the match, shooting eight field goals on his way to a 26 point performance.
The reserves continued to be an X-factor for Cal Poly as they scored 25 points off the bench while in Salt Lake City. Sophomore guard Guzman Vasilic led the bench in points with 13, making him the third double digit performance for the Mustangs.
The final player to hit double digits for Cal Poly was sophomore guard Peter Bandelj. Bandelj had an excellent night on both sides of the ball as he scored 11 points and had five assists.
In the second half, the University of Utah tried to make a comeback, getting within two of Cal Poly with six minutes to go, but the Mustang offense proved to be too much for the Utes.
The offensive production from the Mustangs was the best that it has been all season, scoring the most points they have all year against a Division I program.
The Mustang defense also came alive against the Utes as the team was held to just a 46% field goal percentage in the game. Despite getting close, Utah was also never able to reclaim the lead after the first four minutes.
Defensively, Ward and freshman forward Ali Assran led the team with eight rebounds. Assran also led the team in blocks with two, a season-high number for him.
Bandelj had a defensive presence as well, earning four rebounds, a team-high three steals, and a block throughout the game.
Last season, the Mustangs had a similarly notable upset win over Stanford, which was the team’s first win against an ACC program in Cal Poly’s history. The Nov. 30, 2024 victory was the last time that Cal Poly had beaten a Power Four school until Thursday.
After snapping their losing streak, the Mustangs will look to continue this momentum as they head to Flagstaff, Ariz. next week to finish off their six-game road trip against Northern Arizona University and Southeast Missouri.