Senior forward Chris Eversley had 17 points and five rebounds in a season-opening loss to No. 5 Arizona on Friday night.
Mustang News Staff Report
[follow id =”CPMustangSports”]
Senior guard Kyle Odister scored a game-high 21 points off seven 3-pointers, but the Cal Poly men’s basketball team couldn’t hang with No. 5 Arizona as the Mustangs dropped a 73-62 decision in their season opener in Tucson on Friday night. Arizona is the highest ranked opponent Cal Poly has ever played.
Senior forward Chris Eversley and sophomore wing Dave Nwaba joined Odister with double-digit scoring figures. Eversley posted 17 points and five rebounds while the junior-college transfer Nwaba scored 12 points in his Cal Poly debut.
The Mustangs played Arizona tough as they trailed by three points at halftime, but the Wildcats broke free midway through the second period to outscore Cal Poly 36-28 in the final 20 minutes.
In the first half, the Mustangs used a 9-0 run that included to two 3s by Odister and another by junior wing Michael Bolden to give Cal Poly a short-lived 19-17 lead. Arizona responded with a corner 3-pointer that put the Wildcats on top. It was a lead Arizona would not relinquish.
Odister finished the night scoring all of his points from downtown, hitting on seven of 14 attempts from long range. The Mustangs finished the night 11 of 26 from beyond the arc.
Highly-touted freshman Aaron Gordon led Arizona with 13 points and 10 boards in his collegiate debut. Five other players reached double-figures for the Wildcats.