CSUN came into Thursday night at the Premier America Credit Union Arena against the UC Irvine Anteaters riding a seven game winning streak and looking to extend that stretch. The Anteaters shot a successful layup in the final second of the game to secure a 68-67 win.
The Matadors (18-11 overall, 11-6 conference) and the Anteaters (19-10 overall, 12-5 conference) entered Thursday night’s important matchup in a three-way tie for first place in the Big West conference, with Hawai’i at 12-5 in conference play.
After both teams saw their first three point attempts go in, it was a defensive slugfest for the next eight minutes. Both teams went on to shoot a combined 11-30 from the field and 0-13 from the three point line.
With the score being 14-11 almost halfway through the first half, the Anteaters, backed by their number one scoring defense, made the most of their offensive opportunities off turnovers forced. UCI silenced CSUN and the Matador faithful with a 20-5 run.
The Matadors were not able to recover from the stampede in the final minutes of the first half, which saw the Anteaters ahead, 36-24.
The steep deficit was self-inflicted for CSUN as the big three of guards, Larry Hughes II, Josiah Davis and Joshua O’Garro, were held silent on 3-17 shooting from the field combined, with Davis issuing six of the 10 first-half turnovers for the Matadors.
“We just played very selfish basketball in the first half on both sides. You know, in big games it can change the way you play and it did it for us,” CSUN head coach Andy Newman said.
Big West third leading scorer Hughes did not help his case offensively, as he spent the majority of the first half on the bench in foul trouble. His presence was missed as CSUN shot just 29% from the field, while UCI shot 48.4% from the field.
Despite the first half struggles, the Matadors have been battle tested all season long, nail biter after nail biter they came swinging out the gates. O’Garro was backed by an early 9-2 run that helped him arise from his struggles, scoring seven of the nine points to get the second half started.
In a flash, the Matadors propelled themselves back into the game, tying it at 40 a piece at the 14 minute mark. While it can be hard for a team to crawl back into a game after falling behind, it’s just as easy to lose the momentum.
The Anteaters hit the Matadors with another run – this time it was 12-4. CSUN finally took their first lead of the game since the 12:30 mark of the first half with a Hughes three-pointer.
The lead was short-lived. In the final seven minutes of action, both teams tied at 55. It was an action packed seven minutes, with the teams exchanging blows. Neither team was able to grab a lead larger than just a few points.
With a minute remaining in the game, Davis slashed to the rim and made a difficult layup, giving CSUN a one point lead. After a defensive stop, Hughes nailed a pair of free throws, giving the Matadors a three-point lead with just 55 seconds remaining.
Those wound up being the final points for CSUN as the Anteaters came down the floor and pulled within just one point.
In the final 18 seconds, the Matadors fumbled the opportunity to put the game away, turning the ball over for the final time and giving the Anteaters life.
What ensued was the most chaotic nine seconds. UCI slipped through the back door and stole a victory from CSUN with just one second left on a layup at the buzzer, winning 68-67.
Newman talked about the team’s second half performance.
“We eventually settled into who we are, but they just had too much of a lead. It was a big moment, big game and guys were just focused on the wrong things,” Newman said.
Players were not made available for comment after the game.
The Matadors now set their sights on the road to face off against UC Riverside on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 5 p.m. Newman preached the team’s willingness to forget and learn from this game and look ahead to how they can improve moving forward.
