CSUN came into Saturday night’s matchup against UC Santa Barbara reeling after their seven-game win streak was snapped by UC San Diego in the game prior for the Matadors.
In an offensive showcase, CSUN went right back to their winning ways, scoring a season-high in points en route to a 103-77 throttling of the Gauchos at the Premier America Credit Union Arena.
CSUN’s high-scoring duo of Scotty Washington and Marcus Adams Jr. combined for 43 points.
The Matadors got off to a fast start in the first half scoring the first six points of the game, coming out with intensity on the defensive side as well.
With intensity at high levels there came a lot of physical plays. Things reached a boiling point when the two teams engaged in a shoving match.
CSUN head coach Andy Newman spoke on the play saying it was two physical teams just being competitive.
“I didn’t see much, you know two really tough physical teams, competitive, going at it stuff like that happens, so you know I didn’t really see much out of it,” Newman said. “I think it’s just two really good players locking horns and competing hard. But for us it was good to just settle down and get back to what we came for and that’s to win the basketball game.”
This squabble led to four total technical fouls with two fouls issued to each team. UCSB forward Kenny Pohto was ultimately ejected from the game as a result.
CSUN was fueled by the heated affair, as the team went on a 18-0 run where more than half of the points on this large run came by way of free throws. One note from the first half is that the Matadors shot a perfect 21-21 from the charity stripe and finished 30-31 on the night.
Forward Adams Jr. recorded 12 points as the two led the way to a 58-46 halftime lead. He finished with 20 points on the night.
As the second half kicked off fueled by the end of the first half, the Gauchos came out hot to start the half scoring the first six points to cut their deficit in half.
CSUN avoided complacency and that was the closest UCSB would get the rest of the way. At one point, the Matadors’ lead ballooned to 21 points at the midway point of the half.
One final note for the Matadors is they shot a near perfect 30-31 from the free throw line to finish the game.
“Well I think we just wanted to play together and we didn’t do a good job of that on Thursday, and this was a great response. It was just really good to see our character come out, we’re a tough team that hates to lose and we showed that tonight,” Newman said.
The Matadors officially clinch a first round bye in the Big West postseason tournament. For Newman, he collects his 40th career win as the CSUN head coach.
Newman spoke on the importance of having a first round bye in the tournament.
“I mean it’s really hard to win four nights in a row, and if you are not in that top four it’s hard to do. For us to get in there now it’s just three nights, anybody can win three nights, and it gives us a great opportunity to win that thing,” Newman said.
CSUN shifts their focus to the road as they head to UC Riverside. It’s going to be a pivotal game for the Matadors as the Highlanders have lost just one game at home this season. The game is set for tip off at 7 p.m. on March 6 and will be televised on ESPN+.
