CSUN outlasts UC Santa Barbara in OT to reach Big West Tournament quarterfinals
The Cal State Northridge men’s basketball team had to wait a little longer for its first postseason win in 10 years, but the seventh-seeded Matadors finally checked off that box with an 87-84 overtime victory over sixth-seeded UC Santa Barbara in a Big West Tournament first-round game late Wednesday night in Henderson, Nevada.
“This is just the tip of the sword,” first-year CSUN coach Andy Newman said.
The Matadors (19-14) move on to face third-seeded Hawaii (19-13) in a quarterfinal on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Northridge held the Gauchos (16-15) without a field goal during overtime but hurt itself by missing four consecutive free throws and then fouling Ben Shtolzberg on a 3-point attempt with six seconds left.
After Shtolzberg made all three free throws to pull UCSB within a point, CSUN’s DeccSean Allen-Eikens made two free throws with 4.3 seconds left for an 87-84 lead and Shtolzberg missed a long 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
“I missed two free throws down the stretch. I kept my head up. My teammate picked me up,” Northridge forward Keonte Jones said. “Stupid foul at the end on a 3-pointer, but my teammates were always there, so that’s what it’s about, just picking each other up no matter what, down 10, down 15, just keep pushing it.”
Newman said he considered fouling before the final 3-point heave, but he thought the Matadors had a better chance by letting the Gauchos shoot a desperation 3-pointer.
“We felt like, ‘Hey, if they shoot a runner from 45 (feet) and it goes in, then so be it,’” he said.
Jones had 24 points and nine rebounds and Allen-Eikens scored 23 points for the Matadors, who were picked to finish 10th in the Big West preseason coaches’ poll after going 7-25 last season.
Dionte Bostick added 18 points and Gianni Hunt scored 11 before fouling out with just under 14 minutes left.
Ajay Mitchell, the Big West Player of the Year last season, had 36 points, nine rebounds and five assists, but he rolled his ankle early in overtime and went scoreless after missing all four of his shots.
Yohan Traore added 17 points, but he was also limping at the end of the game for UCSB (16-15), which was picked to finish first in the preseason coaches’ poll, earning nine of 11 first-place votes.
“That felt like nine games all wrapped up into one,” Newman said. “Crazy game, well fought, two great teams getting after each other, making plays too. There weren’t a lot of mistakes, just guys really making great plays.”
CSUN used an early 12-0 run to open a 14-5 lead, but the Gauchos came back with 13 straight points to move ahead 18-14. The game stayed close from there with 10 first-half lead changes before UCSB took a 39-39 lead into halftime.
Mitchell (19 points) and Traore (14) combined for 33 of the 39 first-half points for the Gauchos.
Northridge went on a 10-0 run to move ahead 50-41, but UCSB came back with nine straight points to tie it back up 50-50.
Both teams then traded 8-0 runs before the Gauchos regained the lead at 70-69 on a pull-up jumper by Jason Fontenet II with 6:25 left.
The lead didn’t last long as Allen-Eikens converted a three-point play 15 seconds later to move CSUN back ahead 72-70 and the Matadors eventually stretched the advantage to 79-74 on a drive by Jones with 1:03 left.
Jones missed two free throws with 27.9 seconds left in regulation that would have given the Matadors a four-point lead and Mitchell made two free throws on the other end to tie it at 79-79 with 11 seconds left and Bostick missed a desperation 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
CSUN was down to seven players by the end of the game.
“A testament to our guys,” Newman said. “We’ve got talented guys too. We’ve had a lot of injuries, and with the foul trouble, next guy up and that’s why you have 13 scholarships.”