The Mustangs’ men’s basketball team dropped two consecutive conference games last week to fall to seventh place in the Big West Conference. With just five regular seasonĀ games remaining, Cal Poly (8-17, 3-8) is currently tied with Cal State Northridge for the final seed of the Big West tournament.
Cal Poly vs. Cal State Fullerton
From the opening tip, the Mustangs looked slow and fell behind early in their 75-59 loss to Cal State Fullerton Thursday night. Early in the second half, the Titans led by as many as 18 points.
Senior guard Victor Joseph and junior guard Donovan Fields were the Mustangs’ leading scorers, posting 16 and 15 points respectively. Fields also added eight assists in the losing effort while junior forward Aleks Abrams scored a career-high 10 points.
The Mustangs were able to cut an 18-point deficit down to six in the second half with a 14-2 run, during which Joseph scored nine points. They cut the lead down to two later in the second half after a dunk by junior forward Hank Hollingsworth, but the Titans fended off the Mustangs’ comeback and never allowed Cal Poly to take the lead after the break.
The Titans tightened up their defense as the game got close and held Cal Poly scoreless for the next four minutes of the game, extending their lead back up to double digits.
Fullerton’s lead would not drop below nine for the rest of the game as the Titans cruised to a regular season sweep of the Mustangs, winning by 16 points.
Cal Poly vs. Long Beach State
Long Beach State’s front court combination of junior forward Temidayo Yussuf and senior forward Gabe Levin were too much for the Mustangs to handle in Cal Poly’s 73-54 loss at the Walter Pyramid Saturday Feb. 10.
Levin and Yussuf bullied the Mustangs down low throughout the game as each posted double-doubles. Cal Poly also shot 30 percent from the field andĀ 18 percent from the three-point line.
Senior forward Luke Meikle finished with a team-high 15 points for the Mustangs while freshman guard Iziah James also added a career-high 11 points.
At the beginning of the first half, Meikle carried the load for the Mustangs by scoring seven points in the opening eight minutes. However, Cal Poly trailed for most of the half before eventually evening the score at 17 as part of their 6-0 run.
Long Beach State later took a 26-22 lead going into the second half after Meikle ended a five-minute scoring drought with a three-pointer.
Cal Poly began the second half by cutting the deficit to two after a putback by Meikle, but the 49ers responded with a 7-0 run to stretch their lead.
After the Mustangs’ shooting struggles continued, Long Beach State was able to pull away to end the game with a 73-54 victory.
The first game of the Mustangs’ three-game homestand tips off Thursday at 7 p.m. when they host UC Davis at Mott Athletics Center.