The Cal Poly men’s basketball team is off to a hot 4-2 start after sweeping a weekend set of games in Las Vegas, thanks in part to two consecutive missed free-throws on Friday night.
The Mustangs faced off against UNLV, a team that went on to defeat then-No. 1 North Carolina the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, but fell 75-52. David Hanson’s 17 points weren’t enough to keep the Mustangs close as no other Cal Poly players scored in double-digits.
On Friday, Hanson’s hot hand kept the Mustangs close against Morgan State as the senior scored another 17 points to lead the team. It all might have been for nothing had Ali Ameer of Morgan State sunk either of his two free-throws with 1.4 seconds left on the clock.
The Mustangs dropped 10 3-pointers on the night in 22 attempts, aided by 12 points apiece from transfers Will Taylor and Amuarys Fermin. Cal Poly shot 50 percent from the field, hitting 21 of 42 attempts — a vast improvement over the team’s performance in a win over USC on Nov. 19 where they shot just under 26 percent.
In the final game in Las Vegas, the team dominated Mississippi Valley State on the way to a 72-55 victory to move their record to 4-2.
Dylan Royer, the Mustangs main perimeter threat, came off the bench to lead the team in scoring with 18 points; 15 of his tallies came off 3-pointers as he went 5-of-7 behind the arc. Fermin added 12 points of his own, but dished out eight assists as he went on to make the Las Vegas Invitational All-Tournament team.
Two other Mustangs, Drake U’u and Hanson, were in double figures, each scoring 13 points while the team hit a season-high 54 percent of their shots. Cal Poly also dominated the boards, grabbing 36 rebounds to Mississippi State’s 19.
The team faces Sacramento State at 7 p.m. on Wednesday before welcoming St. Mary’s to Mott Gym for another 7 o’clock tip off on Saturday. The game against the Gales will be the final Mustang game before students take off for winter break. Cal Poly will also host UC Santa Barbara on Monday, Jan. 2, to kick off some Big West action.