Josh AyersAlthough the Cal Poly men’s basketball team has struggled shooting the ball from virtually everywhere on the floor, the Mustangs got their first Big West Conference win Saturday, topping Long Beach State 64-52 at Mott Gym.
“We definitely needed the win on Saturday,” Cal Poly head coach Kevin Bromley said Monday. “We were excited to have four guys in double figures scoring – we might be the only team in America that doesn’t have a guy in double figures scoring (averages for the season).”
Sophomore guard Lorenzo Keeler came off the bench to hit 6 of 10 shots from the floor to lead Cal Poly (6-8, 1-1 BWC) with 14 points.
Fellow guards Dawin Whiten and Chaz Thomas added 11 points to the Mustangs’ cause, and center Titus Shelton chipped in 10 points of his own, respectively.
Junior guard Trae Clark, who leads the Mustangs with 9.3 points per game, finished with team highs of five rebounds and five assists.
While Cal Poly was off from the perimeter, hitting just 3 of its 15 attempts from beyond the 3-point line, and was outrebounded 34-29, the 49ers (3-10, 0-2 BWC) took 13 fewer floor shots than the Mustangs, and connected on four fewer free throws in the loss.
“You have to eliminate bad shots without a doubt,” Bromley said of his team’s shot selection. “It’s not a science – it’s an art. This team has to be balanced with 3-point shots, dribble penetration and post play.”
Long Beach State, which turned the ball over 22 times, fielded a starting lineup without a single senior.
The 49ers squad, which Bromley said is “not a really good basketball team,” was a vastly different one than the version that vanquished Cal Poly 94-83 March 10, 2007 in the Big West Tournament final in Anaheim.
All nine of that conference champion’s leading scorers are no longer with the team, coached by first-year helmsman Dan Monson.
“They’re going to struggle a bit because of losing nine guys,” Bromley said.
Just the same, though, the Mustangs’ win was a much-needed band-aid amidst a campaign in which they have encountered difficulty finding an identity offensively.
“We shared the basketball really well, and had a low turnover game,” Bromley added. “There are some things to build on there.”
Besides the Long Beach State win, the Mustangs’ only win over the break was a 66-56 home victory Dec. 15 over Cal State Bakersfield, a team still in transition from Division II.
They came up short in their first conference contest of the season, falling 80-59 Thursday to Cal State Northridge.
“In the Northridge game we shot ourselves in the foot,” Bromley said, alluding to going just 16-of-28 from the free-throw line. “But to Northridge’s credit, they’re as good as UMass, Arizona State and USC. They’re as quick as any team we’ve played in converting a turnover into a layup.”
The Mustangs will look for their second straight conference win when they tip off at Cal State Fullerton at 7 p.m. Thursday.
McBride named Big West Player of the Week, Harrison not far behind
A talented forward duo has led the Cal Poly women’s basketball team to wins in its first two Big West Conference outings of the season.
Following a six-game losing skid stretching from Nov. 29 to Dec. 18, the Mustangs won 78-66 at Cal State Northridge on Thursday, before heading down the road to Long Beach State to win 76-59 Saturday.
“Those road wins were a big payoff for the players,” Cal Poly head coach Faith Mimnaugh said Monday. She added her players had been practicing up to two or three times a day during the break to remedy woes that were exposed during the string of losses.
Lisa McBride led the Mustangs (5-9, 2-0 BWC) with 18 points and nine rebounds in the most recent win, and fellow forward Megan Harrison added 17 points and six rebounds, respectively.
Ironically, Cal Poly distributed 21 assists while turning the ball over just 10 times, while the 49ers (2-11, 0-2 BWC) lost 21 possessions and mustered just 10 assists.
“That’s a great combination,” Mimnaugh said. “If we can continue in that line we’re going to be a really good basketball team.”
Cal Poly leads the conference in assists, with 14.6 per game.
Long Beach State was held to just 36-percent shooting from the floor in the loss.
Just two days earlier, McBride scored 20 points to lead five Mustangs scoring in double figures in the win over the Matadors.
She was named Monday the Big West Player of the Week, making her the conference’s first repeat winner this season.
On the year, the junior is averaging 13.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, both second on the team behind Harrison’s 14.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, respectively.
Four of Cal Poly’s six losses during the more-than-a-month winning drought predating winter break were by 10 points or fewer, with the most one-sided outcome being an 80-64 loss at Loyola Marymount on Dec. 8.
“We’ve been missing different pieces of the puzzle,” Mimnaugh said, referring to injuries. “We’re starting to come together with chemistry.”
The Mustangs will try to remain unscathed in conference play when they host Cal State Fullerton at 7 p.m. Thursday in their first home game since Dec. 12.
Mendes still unbeaten
Chad Mendes didn’t lose over break. In fact, Cal Poly’s highest-ranked wrestler hasn’t lost at all this season.
Mendes (16-0), the third-ranked 141-pounder in the country, won by forfeit Friday as the Mustangs (3-3, 2-1 Pac-10) defeated undermanned Oregon 22-15 at Mott Gym. He wasn’t fully healthy in his own right, though, as he is still recovering from a broken nose.
“We’ve basically geared his practices so he can get his conditioning base up and keep his wrestling skills going without having to harm his nose,” Cal Poly assistant coach Sammie Henson said Monday. “We also have a facemask for him but it hinders his breathing.”
Overcoming the ailment shouldn’t hinder the latter stages of Mendes’ season, though, Henson added.
“He’ll be there at the end,” Henson said. “He’s going to surprise a lot of people in the nation.”
Cal Poly won six of 10 matches in its second conference victory of the season.
At 197 pounds, Arturo Basulto claimed a 3-1 decision for the Mustangs over Shaun Dee. Chase Pami, the tenth-ranked 157-pound grappler in the nation, won a major decision 15-3 over Oregon’s Elliot Trace.
Prior to facing the Ducks, Cal Poly lost 24-12 to West Virginia on Thursday.
“West Virginia showed us our weaknesses,” said Henson, who added that his team lost some of its focus over break.
The Mustangs will try to demonstrate that they’ve regained some of it when they hit the mat at 7 p.m. Friday, hosting Arizona State, before hosting No. 25 Boise State at 2 p.m. Sunday.