For the Mustangs, it’s time to get down to the basics.
“Our message is really trying to get (the team) back to that point of stop playing the score, stop playing the records, stop looking at the standings, play the game in front of you,” head coach Joe Callero said.
More than halfway into their conference schedule, the Mustangs (8-14, 5-5 Big West) have rolled off four consecutive losses heading into tonight’s match-up against Long Beach State (11-12, 5-5). With five games left in the season, Callero is emphasizing fundamentals.
“What we are looking for is energy; what we are looking for is enthusiasm,” Callero said. “We are going to do whatever we need to try and jolt some energy into the team.”
In their previous contest against Pacific, Callero refined the Mustangs starting lineup to try and add a spark to the team. Senior guard Lorenzo Keeler was moved to point guard, sophomore forward David Hanson saw playing time at center and senior guard Charles Anderson started. Although the Mustangs suffered a 67-61 loss with a new set of starters, Callero saw the game as a step in the right direction.
“I told the players, ‘Your playing time is earned every day on the practice floor,’” Callero said. “You are not going to be rewarded for 90-percent effort.”
Two weeks ago, the Mustangs were second place in conference but have since lost ground in the standings. Last week, they lost to UC Davis and Pacific by a combined 26 points.
Anderson has been on Cal Poly teams that have struggled through losing streaks before, but he said this team is capable of returning its winning ways this week.
“This team is a little different than past teams. We know from our first five victories that we can compete in this conference,” he said. “We just need to find our competitive edge … and get back to that winning. We have become a little complacent, and you can’t do that in this conference. Teams are hungry and they definitely want to take the games from you, (but) we can definitely get back to the winning edge we’ve had.”
On Thursday, the Mustangs lost by 20 points to Davis, a team they had previously beat this season. The team committed 19 turnovers while Keeler, the second leading scorer in the Big West, was the only player to score in double digits with 30 points.
Anderson said it was their mindset that let the Mustangs down.
“The opponents that we’ve faced these last three, four games have wanted it more than us,” he said. “In order for us to get back on the winning side of things, we definitely have to come out, compete harder and fight for the game and fight for the victory.”
Against Pacific, the Mustangs had a much more balanced scoring effort with three players scoring in double figures and with freshman guard Kyle Odister adding nine. Despite having more assists than turnovers, Cal Poly was not able to spring the upset trap on the conference leaders.
“We were happy with how we played against Pacific. Definitely would have liked to come out with a victory of course, but we learned a lot from that game. We learned that we can still compete with the top team of the conference,” Anderson said. “Hopefully we can take what we learned from that game and carry it over to the upcoming six games in conference, first and foremost Long Beach on Thursday night.”
Long Beach State is led by a trio of sophomores in forward T.J. Robinson and guards Casper Ware and Larry Anderson. All three sophomores average more than 30 minutes and 11 points a game. The Mustangs have already beat Long Beach State once this year 90-79 on Jan. 16. Hanson contributed 22 points coming off the bench.
Callero said it will take an all-out team effort to come out on top of Long Beach State again.
“We played with such great intensity down there that we had a 20 plus rebound advantage and got extra possessions on it. I think that was the major key down there,” he said. “It’s a rubber match for them and an opportunity for them to come back and redeem themselves and for us; it’s an opportunity to stay in the top half of the conference.”
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
—Brian De Los Santos and Zach Lantz contributed to this article.