Going into halftime against UC Davis, Cal Poly Men’s Basketball found themselves in a familiar position as of recent: a one-point game.
On Thursday night, the Mustangs (9-16, 5-8 Big West) spent the last minute of their game against CSUN (15-10, 8-5 Big West) trading a one-point lead back and forth, before Northridge put away a jumper with two seconds remaining to hand Cal Poly a one-point loss.
Having won the first matchup of the season against UC Davis(15-9, 8-5 Big West), the Mustangs were looking to break their one-game losing streak. However, the Aggies found momentum late to hand Cal Poly their second straight loss with a final score of 67-58.
The first half of the game was an evenly split back-and-forth between the two teams, with comparable team field goal and three-point percentages. But going into the second half, Cal Poly found themselves in the same situation as Thursday night.
Early in the second half, Cal Poly held a seven-point lead, spurred on by a dunk from junior guard Jake Davis and four consecutive free throws made by sophomore Hamad Mousa. The Mustangs shot a perfect 100% on the night from the free throw line, with Mousa going 8-8 from the line.
With 10 minutes left to play, a flurry of threes from players all over the court helped to preserve their lead and brought up the team’s three-point percentage to 40% in the second half.
Leading the push from beyond the arc was sophomore guard Cayden Ward. He led the team in three-pointers, scoring three of them while shooting 66% from the three point line in the second half.
As the second half continued, UC Davis began chipping away at Cal Poly’s lead. The Mustangs’ lead had stretched to as far as eight in the second half, but after multiple Aggie lay-ups and several free throws, the advantage had dwindled back down to just one point.
With 5:37 left on the clock, a foul was committed by sophomore guard Guzman Vasilic. UC Davis’s Jalen Stokes went to the line and sank both free throws to turn Cal Poly’s one-point lead into a one-point deficit, a familiar sight for the Mustangs.
The Aggies took their first lead of the second half with 5:36 left to play, and the Aggies never looked back. UC Davis quickly widened the lead to four, making it a two-possession game.
Coming off the bench, freshman guard Jess Esso Essis, with help from sophomore guard Peter Bandelj, was able to rein in UC Davis’s growing lead to just two points. Esso Essis was emerging as a huge threat for Cal Poly, with 10 points and eight rebounds at that point.
However, the late game efforts of Bandelj and Esso Essis just wasn’t enough as the Aggies continued to pull away, beating the Mustangs with a final score of 67-58.
Esso Essis and Mousa led the team scoring and rebounding with 12 points apiece, and eight and six rebounds respectively. Ward and Davis both also recorded six rebounds.
This is now Cal Poly’s second loss in a row, dropping them to eighth in the Big West Conference standings. With the top eight teams advancing to the Big West Conference tournament at the end of the season, they are now on the cusp of being in, or out of, postseason play.
The Mustangs will look to further solidify their top eight positioning as they take on top-ranked UC Irvine in Mott Athletic Center on Thursday, Feb. 12.