Cal Poly Men’s Basketball continued to struggle for their ninth loss in a row by a score of 65-36 to Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, Jan. 28 inside Mott Athletics Center.
The Mustangs (7-15, 1-9 Big West) produced the program’s lowest scoring output since Dec. 14, 2019, while Cal State Fullerton (12-11, 6-5 Big West) made 10-of-25 from three-point land.
“It’s definitely desperation time,” head coach John Smith said. “It’s desperation time after one loss. This conference is hard and you can’t take a night off…We’ve got to find a way to get guys’ confidence back.”
Following a loss to Long Beach State where the Mustangs shot 34.5% from the field, the team converted on only 29.2% of their shot attempts.
According to Smith, the issue with the shooting is “clearly confidence.”
“We had shooting nights where we would come back at night and shoot Mondays and Wednesdays and it’s just not equating,” Smith said. “Guys are getting in spots where they can shoot, but our spacing hasn’t been the greatest.”
The Mustangs took a 5-2 lead to open the game, but after back-to-back threes from the Titans later in the quarter, Cal Poly fell behind 16-6. Fullerton proceeded to dominate the rest of the half and held a 21-point lead heading into the locker room.
Cal Poly tied their lowest-scoring half of the season with 16 points, a mark that they hit in a loss to Cal State Bakersfield on Jan. 5.
The Titans maintained a 20-point advantage to open the second half, with the lead stretching out to 30 at the 15-minute mark.
That lead never faltered down the stretch, handing the Mustangs their second-largest loss of the year.
Junior guard Brantly Stevenson led the way in scoring with 13 points. Junior guard Kobe Sanders added 11 points. No other Mustang and more than five points.
“Right now, it’s just every play, fight… every game, come in and give it our all,” Sanders said.
Cal Poly will travel to UC Santa Barbara on Thursday, Feb. 2 for a 7 p.m. matchup inside the Thunderdome.
