Senior guard Kobe Sanders and freshman guard Quentin Jones played the role of running mates yet again, scoring 21 and 19, respectively, but it wasn’t enough as the Mustangs fell to Oregon State 70-63 in double OT.
Jones has quickly become a key cog in the offensive game plan for Cal Poly. The true freshman finished with his fourth double-digit scoring night of the contest and is averaging 10.1 points per game.
After the San Jose State game, Jones said one of the areas he’s making strides in is making catch-and-shoot threes. His growth was apparent as he made three of his six attempts.
Sanders avoided foul trouble after missing the majority of the first half in both the Idaho and San Jose State games but kept his clutch shot-making ability. Sanders had 13 points in the last six minutes of regulation and overtime periods, including a layup to send it to double OT.
Cal Poly had a chance to steal the victory at the end of regulation after a turnover gave them the ball with the shot clock turned off. Graduate point guard Jarred Hyder, who had an unusually quiet night for what has so far been a successful season, had the game in his hand, but his three-pointer would not go down.
A cause for concern about the Cal Poly defense is that almost 75% of the Beavers’ points tonight were scored in the key (52 of 70). Despite the complete lack of three-point shooting for Oregon State, the Mustangs were flat-out unable to stop them inside.
Still, Cal Poly was able to take a lead into halftime and traded punches with Oregon State all the way through the first OT period before running out of gas in the second extra frame.
Junior center Joel Armotrading pitched in nine rebounds to go along with his eight points.
Cal Poly looks to get their first true road win against Weber State on Saturday, Dec. 9, in Ogden, Utah.
