Nick CamachoIt lasted 10 games, spanned more than 11 months dating back to last season and was the conspicuous gorilla on the back of the Cal Poly men’s basketball team.
But now it’s gone.
The road losing streak for the Mustangs came to an emphatic end Saturday night with Cal Poly’s 71-61 win over Big West Conference rival UC Santa Barbara. It was the team’s first win in the Thunderdome since 1998 and only its second there since 1959.
“It felt great,” Cal Poly sophomore point guard Trae Clark said Monday at a weekly athletic department press conference. “Last year we had a tough time in Santa Barbara.”
Cal Poly head coach Kevin Bromley said a lively celebration in the team’s locker room ensued after the game.
“They were excited,” Bromley said. “It was pretty neat to see in the locker room. They felt it in the locker room after the game.”
Cal Poly (9-8, 2-3 Big West) has won three straight games overall and possesses a winning record 17 games into the season for the first time since an 11-6 start to the 2001-02 campaign, which included upset home wins over Oregon State and Utah State.
But the Mustangs are trying not to get too giddy over their newfound success.
Clark, who dropped 19 points in the win at UCSB (11-6, 3-2 Big West), said Cal Poly still has areas to improve.
“We have to concentrate on defense,” he said. “Stress the defensive effort on our team. I don’t really worry about our offense.”
Indeed, the Mustangs’ offense has been a strength over the three-game winning streak. Cal Poly averaged 72.3 points per game during that stretch and committed only five turnovers Saturday.
Bromley said his team’s play has improved largely because of its attitude.
“The thing that’s hard to explain is their positive frame of mind and communication,” Bromley said.
Cal Poly senior Tyler McGinn has started at power forward all season, but has showed enough range on his jumper to hit 40 of 85 3-pointers. He has scored in double figures in six straight games and his clip of 17 for 33 from beyond the arc in five Big West games ranks sixth in the conference at 51.5 percent.
“He’s playing with confidence and that’s what you want from a senior,” Bromley said of McGinn, who averages 11.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.
Bromley said the most important statistic to him is field-goal percentage defense. That is a category his team has fared well in, limiting opponents to 42.3 percent shooting. He credited junior shooting guard Dawin Whiten for much of that, saying, “he’s developed into a team defender.”
Something Bromley is concerned with is depth underneath the basket.
Although starting sophomore center Titus Shelton and junior sixth man Dreshawn Vance have combined to average 16.3 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.8 blocks, the luxury of another post presence is still in limbo, Bromley said.
“Those two kids play above the rim,” Bromley said of Shelton and Vance. “There’s got to be another guy.”
Cal Poly will try to win its fourth straight when it visits three-time defending conference champion Pacific (6-11, 2-2 Big West) at 7 p.m. Thursday.