Cal Poly Men’s Basketball let another late lead slip in a 58-52 loss to UC Davis on Saturday, Feb. 25 inside Mott Athletics Center.
The Mustangs (7-23 1-17 Big West) have now lost a whopping 17 games in a row while the Aggies (17-12 10-7 Big West) continued their solid season with the win.
Midway through the first half, Cal Poly starting point guard junior Camren Pierce went down hard on the court and did not return after being put into concussion protocol.
Despite being down both Pierce and junior guard Kobe Sanders, the Mustangs held their own throughout the first 20 minutes, taking a 26-24 lead into halftime.
Junior guard Brantly Stevenson was scoring at will in the first half, leading Cal Poly with eight points.
Throughout the next 18 minutes, the Mustangs seemed confident and energized in front of a packed gym but were unable to finish when it counted.
With 2:30 remaining, Cal Poly held a slim two-point lead when Stevenson, still the leading scorer, fouled out of the game.
Davis capitalized on this and proceeded to go on an 8-0 run in the last 2:30 of the game to steal the 58-52 victory.
Stevenson ended the game with 13 points and six rebounds as well.
The Mustangs shot 4-for-22 (18%) from deep, which led to head coach John Smith bringing in sophomore point guard Hayden Jory for a spark off the bench
“[Jory] is one of our smartest players… and he does shoot it well,” Smith said. “We are looking for confident shooters and he knows he is going to be in and have a big opportunity with Cam Pierce not on the court.”
Cal Poly will have two more games to get some momentum and get healthy before the Big West Tournament.
“There are three seasons, once the third season starts, the Big West Tournament, everyone is 0-0 so everyone has a chance, regardless of what’s happened earlier,” Smith said. “We just need to get healthy.”
The Mustangs will hit the road for their next matchup against UC San Diego on Thursday, Mar. 2 at 7 p.m. inside LionTree Arena.
