Mustang News Staff Report
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The Cal Poly men’s basketball team dropped its season opener with a 65-49 loss at Nevada on Saturday, its third straight loss to open a season.
Despite leading by eight points early and maintaining a lead at halftime, the Mustangs were outscored by 17 in the second half. This is the third year in a row the Wolf Pack have defeated the Mustangs.
Junior guard Reese Morgan led the Mustangs with 13 points and added seven rebounds. Morgan’s contribution is promising, considering the knee problems he’s dealt with during his career.
Junior guard David Nwaba, the Mustangs’ leader in field-goal percentage last season, added 11 points and four rebounds after going 3-of-7 from the field.
Senior guard Maliik Love logged a team-high 30 minutes in his debut as the primary point guard for the Mustangs. Love tallied four points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Overall, the Mustangs struggled on the offensive side of the ball. They shot just 31 percent from the field, 18 percent from the three-point line and an abysmal 50 percent from the free-throw line.
Nevada forward AJ West dominated the Mustangs in the paint with his size, grabbing eight rebounds and blocking six shots.
The Mustangs, coming off a Big West Championship and an NCAA Tournament victory in their 2013-14 campaign, are no strangers to a tough nonconference schedule. They went 4-9 last season prior to Big West play, but the schedule featured matches against then-No. 5 Arizona, Oregon and Stanford, three Pac-12 powerhouses.
This season, the Mustangs will travel to California to take on the Golden Bears and will also visit Seattle to face Gonzaga in Key Arena.
The Mustangs return to Mott Athletics Center for their next two games against San Francisco State and Delaware on Nov. 18 and Nov. 21, respectively. Both games are set to tip off at 7 p.m.