Glancing down, clapping his hands, arms crossed, Cal Poly head coach Joe Callero waited for his new team to storm onto his new home court. The fact his old team was standing on the other side of the hardwood with a new head coach didn’t bother him.
“You really train yourself to focus on what I got to do, and as a coach I got our guys,” Callero said. “My biggest excitement tonight was to have a home opener … I wanted those guys to taste success.”
For the first time all season, Mustang fans got a chance to see their men’s basketball team in Mott Gym. For the first time all season coach, Callero got to see his new team taste victory, 85 -74, defeating Seattle.
In his eyes, the game was bigger than the storybook script presented.
“Joe Callero doesn’t exist and Seattle didn’t exist, (today) was Cal Poly just trying to play the best basketball they have,” Callero said.
Trailing as much as 27-11 in the first half, Cal Poly embarked on a first-half run that pushed them within five heading into halftime.
With the deficit 37-32, Callero kept his halftime speech simple.
“Do you believe,” Callero asked. “I can believe, I can be this, I can do that, but if you don’t believe that you’re really going to do that … none of this matters … It’s on you, coaches don’t win it.”
Seattle still led by five points, 46-41, two minutes into the second half. Cal Poly went on a 7-1 run to grab its first lead of the game at 48-47 with 10:44 to play in the game — sophomore center Will Donahue’s three-point conversion capped the rally.
The Mustangs scored 40 points in the final 10 minutes and 44 seconds of the game to pull away, leading by as many as 11 points, the margin of victory.
“For me it was the first time I got to feel the energy of being a head coach in Mott Gym,” Callero said. “To sense our supporters behind us, students in front of us, the band, I mean this is why I came to Cal Poly. It was a college environment — a good college basketball environment.”
Cal Poly shot 56 percent form the floor in the second half after shooting 42.3 percent in the first 20 minutes of play. Seattle shot 24 of 59 from the floor (40.7 percent).
“We were all really excited to get out in front of the home crowd,” sophomore forward Jordan Lewis said. “It felt so good to get (them ) behind us, hopefully that’s not the last time, this year we want to get as many people as possible, it’s a great atmosphere when everyone is out here.”
A memorable atmosphere is what Callero said is a key to building a tradition of winning within the walls of Mott Gym.
“The first step to any rebuilding process is becoming a home-court team, Callero said. “You come home, you get juiced up, jump a little higher, shoot a little better, be a little more enthusiastic and that’s what really was the case tonight.”
Six Cal Poly players scored in double figures for the Mustangs.
Donahue produced a double-double, notching 13 points and 11 rebounds to lead Cal Poly in a game marred by 62 personal fouls — 33 by the Mustangs. Not to mention, 47 turnovers — 26 by the Mustangs.
Lewis added 15 points, junior guard Shawn Lewis 13, senior guard Lorenzo Keeler 11 and sophomore guard Justin Brown and sophomore forward David Hanson 10 each.
On Seattle’s first possession of the game, NBA prospect forward Charles Garcia’s 3-point shot attempt was blocked by Lewis. The block masked the poor start that Callero said Lewis had.
“He took shots he shouldnt take, he took drives the wrong place and the wrong time and was 0-6 from the field,” Callero said. “(In the) second half Shawn found his balance… I’m so proud of him for that because he has been grinding away. He’s been really trying to get a feel about what we’ve been talking about.”
With 40 seconds left in the contest, Lewis got a hold of a lose ball and took it the distance to finish with a monster two-handed jam. The dunk sent the crowd to their feet and gave a gift to fans who had not seen a win all season.
“I was glad we made it; I was just glad it counted as two points,” Callero said.
Garcia finished with 26 points, 16 rebounds for the Redhawks, and posted a double-double before halftime.
“He is a tough guy to defend,” Lewis said. “(We played) good team defense on him and tried to swarm him whenever he got it, we’re lucky we came away with the win.”
Forward Mike Boxley finished the game with 13 points and Aaron Broussard finished the game with 11 points to round out the only other Redhawks who reached double digits.
The Mustangs continue their home stand to take on Pepperdine this Saturday in Mott Gym.