The CSUN men’s basketball team (11-5, 3-2) came into Thursday night boasting a four game winning streak before they took on UC Irvine (14-2, 4-0) at home. That streak was snapped as the team got off to a sluggish start and never fully recovered, as the Anteaters came out of the Premier America Credit Union Arena with a conference win, 77-67.
This game also extended the Matadors losing streak to six games against the Anteaters. CSUN saw their last win vs. UCI in the 2019-2020 season.
As the ball was tipped things got off to a fast start for UCI within the first five minutes of game action, capped off by back to back threes from Anteater guards redshirt freshman Jurian Dixon and graduate Justin Hohn, taking a 15-2 lead.
Multiple turnovers and missed opportunities at the rim were the leading cause for the Matadors slow start. Before the Matadors could even blink they faced a 20 point deficit 11 minutes into the game.
CSUN cut the Anteaters’ lead to as low as 14 points in the first half. UCI was led by sophomore guard Myles Che who recorded 13 first half points, going 3-6 from three point range.
As the first half came to an end the Matadors were staring at a steep hill to climb, with a 17 point deficit, 41-24. The team shot 9-32 from the field, and most importantly 0-5 from three. The team caused 11 turnovers but were unable to capitalize on most of them.
Junior guard Scotty Washington was the offense for the Matadors scoring 11 points and going 5-10 from the field, while grabbing a pair of steals on the defensive end.
UCI shot a modest 42.3% from the field and 40% from three point land, with the teams leading scorer senior center Bent Leuchten having nine points at the half.
The Anteaters’ defense held CSUN’s leading scorer Marcus Adams Jr. to a scoreless first half after having a career high in points of 28 in the teams previous matchup against UC Davis.
At the 7:29 mark of the second half Adams Jr. scored a layup to cut the lead to just 11 points, what ensued was a mini 6-0 run for the Matadors, as the lead for the Anteaters was just five points, 63-58.
With the crowd fully engaged and the Matadors energy at its highest all game, momentum was heavily swinging the Matadors way. CSUN head coach Andy Newman called a timeout to regroup and set adjustments for the final six minutes of the game.
After the timeout, CSUN was gutted by an 8-0 run from the Anteaters, highlighted by a pair of layups from Anteaters redshirt senior forward Devin Tillis.
For the Matadors, Washington finished with 19 points, while senior forward Mahmoud Fofana recorded a double double scoring 10 points, and grabbing 13 rebounds, Adams Jr. was held to just 11 points on 4-12 shooting.
Leading the way for the Anteaters was Leuchten scoring 17 points and grabbing 12 rebounds recording a double double of his own on an efficient 11-14 from the field, Hohn finished with 16 points.
Che ended up receiving a second technical foul that saw him get ejected, he finished with 15 points recording just two points in the second half.
The Matadors now switch their focus to their next game on the road as they now face off against the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners on Saturday, Jan 11 at 6 pm.
