After defeating Hawai’i and Long Beach State in back-to-back games, the CSUN men’s basketball team traveled down to UC San Diego to take on the No. 2 team in the Big West with some much-needed momentum.

Instead, UCSD handily defeated the Matadors in a 79-54 win on Saturday night at Liontree Arena.

A few nights after shooting 51% from the field in their win vs. LBSU, the Matadors endured one of their worst offensive efforts of the season. The Tritons held CSUN to their lowest point total of the season.

In the first half alone, CSUN shot a paltry 9-28 from the field, including 1-6 from beyond the arc. The Matadors finished the game shooting 20-61 from the field and were 2-14 on three-point attempts. CSUN guard Scotty Washington delivered another solid effort for the Matadors, finishing with a team-high 17 points on 6-13 shooting.

CSUN head coach Andy Newman was blunt about the way his team performed.

“All three areas of the game that we really pride ourselves on, defense, rebounding, and playing together, were just not existing today,” Newman said. “One of those days that we were just awful in all three aspects and when you play a good team and you’re awful like that, the score is going to resemble that.”

UCSD entered the game averaging around nine turnovers a game, but the Matadors forced 13 turnovers against the Tritons. However, it wasn’t enough, as the Matadors struggled to stop UCSD forward Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones.

The potential All-Big West candidate was perfect from the field in the first half and ended his night shooting 10-14. Tait-Jones had 23 points at the half and finished with a season-high 32 in the win.

CSUN’s scoring struggles were apparent from the opening tip. The Matadors couldn’t make the most of their open looks, and it wasn’t until seven and a half minutes into the game that they hit double-digit points. As a result, one point late in the first half, CSUN found themselves facing a 22-point deficit, but it managed to cut it down to 19 before halftime.

Although they trailed for most of the game, CSUN kept it competitive in the second half. The Matadors began chipping away at the lead to start the half, eventually trimming it to a 12-point UCSD lead with 10:10 left in the second half.

Things quickly unraveled from there for CSUN as the Tritons went on an 11-2 run to extend their lead back up to 20 points and led 64-44 with 6:03 left in the game. It proved too much for the Matadors to overcome.

Newman said that he wanted the loss to motivate the team.

“We’re not going to flush this, we’re going to remember it because that’s how you get better and that’s how you become a better version of yourself,” Newman said.

The Matadors fell to a 13-7 overall record and are 5-4 in conference play.

Next, CSUN travels to UC Santa Barbara to take on the Gauchos in a game that will impact on the conference standings. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ on Thursday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m.