The second most successful Division I season in Cal Poly men’s basketball history came to an end at the hands of UC Santa Barbara in the Big West Tournament semifinals. The Mustangs went 18-15, placed fourth in conference and defeated UC Riverside in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament before falling to the Gauchos.
In head coach Joe Callero’s third season at the helm, Cal Poly improved again after winning 12 games in his first year and 15 games last year. This year, the team will lose six seniors, including Will Taylor, Jordan Lewis, Matt Titchenal, David Hanson, Will Donahue and Amaurys Fermin, who played just one season with the Mustangs.
To start the year, though, the experienced squad capitalized on its relatively easy non-conference schedule defeating USC in Los Angeles on Nov. 19 but did not come away with a signature win against a team that made the NCAA Tournament.
On Dec. 3, the Mustangs kept the level of play high to stay close with St. Mary’s, a team ranked 18th by USA Today. And at the end of the season, in a five-point loss on Dec. 21, Cal Poly fell to the Big East’s DePaul by five in Chicago.
Going into conference play, the Gauchos defeated the Mustangs by one point in Mott Gym on Jan. 2. UCSB went on to beat Cal Poly three more times throughout the season.
On Jan. 5, the team lost to conference champion Long Beach State despite taking a double-digit lead into the second half. A furious full-court press by the 49ers combined with Big West Player of the Year Casper Ware’s 22 second half points (and four 3-pointers) gave Long Beach State the win.
The highlight of the season was a win against Cal State Northridge at home on Jan. 21. Cal Poly scored 100 points and tied a then-NCAA record for consecutive 3-pointers made. The Mustangs hit 11 in a row to begin the first half before a Fermin jumper found iron to begin the second period.
The team struggled away from Mott Gym, however, going just 5-10 on the road. In conference play, the Mustangs only defeated UC Irvine and UC Davis away from home, Jan. 12 and 28, respectively — these were the only two teams the Mustangs beat twice.
For 2012-13, the team returns starters Drake U’u, who broke his hand on Feb. 11 and missed the last seven games; Dylan Royer, the team’s 3-point marksman; and Chris Eversley, who scored in the double-digits in 12 of Cal Poly’s 18 conference games.
Freshmen Joel Awich and Reese Morgan dressed for each home game in conference play, but preserved their redshirt status and will be expected to take the court next season. Awich will be Cal Poly’s tallest returner measuring in at 6-foot-7 inches but doesn’t have as much size as Taylor or Donahue.
Morgan averaged 22.5 points per game over his high school career and hit 40.5 percent of his 3-point attempts during his junior and senior years.