After dropping their season opener to St. Bonaventure, the CSUN men’s basketball team has raced out to one of the hottest starts to a season in recent memory for the Matadors.
CSUN finished up their Thanksgiving week road trip to the state of Montana with a 3-1 record and came back to Northridge with a 6-2 overall record.
CSUN head coach Andy Newman was not with the team for the final three games of the trip due to personal reasons. Stepping into the first chair was assistant coach Scott Cutley, who led the Matadors to a 2-1 record as he filled in for Newman.
Newman will be back leading the Matadors for their Big West opener on Thursday vs. UC Riverside, sources within CSUN athletics tell the Daily Sundial.
Going into the week starting on Nov. 24 and finishing up on Nov. 27, the Matadors began their trip to Montana with a three game, multi-team event (MTE) at the University of Montana called the Stew Morrill Classic.
CSUN opened the MTE with a familiar opponent, Utah Tech. The Matadors beat the Blazers last season in St. George. CSUN had to conjure up with another comeback to dispatch the Trailblazers 89–79. It would be the only game Newman would coach the team throughout the week.
The win vs. Utah Tech was the start of a big week for CSUN forwards Keonte Jones and Marcus Adams Jr.. Both players would finish with double-digit points in each of the four games CSUN played in throughout the week.
Jones nearly reached a career-high in points against the Trailblazers. He ended the night with 23 points, only surpassed by Adams Jr.’s career high night.
Adams Jr., the highly touted transfer from BYU, put up 25 points in the win over Utah Tech, a career-high for the sophomore forward.
In Cutley’s first game as the interim head coach, CSUN had arguably their best performance of the season up to this point in their 89–60 win over Denver, the next day on Nov. 25. It was a totally dominating effort from the Matadors that saw them nearly led from start to finish.
Adams. Jr put up 19 points and 11 rebounds, his first double-double as a Matador.
Jones followed up his 23 point game with a 17-point night.
On Nov. 27, the day before Thanksgiving, CSUN saw their five game winning streak snap as they dropped to a 5-2 record. In what was the de facto Stew Morrill Classic championship game, the Matadors were taken down by hosts Montana 83-75.
It was another productive game from Jones as he would account for his third double-double of the season with a 15 point,12 rebound performance.
Adams Jr. would tack on 17 points in the loss.
CSUN concluded their trip to the Treasure State, heading east to Bozeman, home of the Montana State Bobcats. It was another familiar foe for the Matadors as CSUN took down the Big Sky champions last season.
The Matadors came away on top once again in a back-and-forth 72-69 overtime affair. It took a complete effort from Jones as he finished with his forth double-double of the season. He had 11 points and 11 rebounds in 39 minutes of play before fouling out in overtime.
Adams. Jr cracked the 20 point mark once again, finishing with 21 points and seven rebounds in the win over the Bobcats.
After their four game road trip, the Matadors will play their next three of five games at the Premier America Credit Union Arena. CSUN will host UCR on Dec. 5, before traveling for two games, then back to the PACU for Chicago State on Dec. 21 and then La Sierra on Dec. 28 to close out 2024.
