Ryan ChartrandMen’s basketball team’s rally comes up short
The Mustangs’ bid to win their second straight Big West Conference game didn’t materialize at Cal State Fullerton Thursday night, as they fell 78-64 at Titan Gym.
After leading 37-33 at the half, the Titans reeled off an 18-2 run to give themselves a 55-35 advantage with about 13 minutes left.
Cal Poly, though, cut the lead to 69-64 on a Shawn Lewis 3-pointer with 2:35 left, but on the ensuing trip down the court, the Titans answered with a trey of their own, and the Mustangs got no closer.
Matt Hanson scored a game-high 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting and pulled down six rebounds for Cal Poly (6-9, 1-2 Big West Conference).
Titus Shelton added 10 points in the loss.
Josh Akognon led the Titans (10-4, 3-0 BWC) with 21 points. Twelve of them came in the opening half.
Cal Poly will try to get back in the win column at UC Irvine at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Wrestlers looks to hand Sun Devils first loss of season
Cal Poly hasn’t beaten Arizona State in three seasons, but will get another shot at Mott Gym tonight.
Leading the Mustangs (3-3, 2-1 Pac-10) into the conference dual meet are Chad Mendes (16-0), ranked third in the country at 141 pounds, and Chase Pami, slotted tenth at 157.
The Sun Devils (8-0, 2-0 Pac-10), meanwhile, carry a trio of top-25 grapplers into the 7 p.m. contest.
Senior Pat Pitsch, ranked No. 10 at 165 is the most highly touted of the three, followed by freshman Brent Chiswell, No. 16 at 184, and freshman Anthony Robles, 19th at 125.
Pitsch, Mustangs assistant coach Sammie Henson said, will be “a hard task for Ryan Williams.”
Robles, who wrestles with one leg, can seem like a heavier force, Henson said.
“He’s unbelievable,” Henson added. “He’s more like a 175-pounder. When he gets on top of you and gets a hold of you, you’re in trouble.”
In the second half of a two-match, conference home stand, the Mustangs will host No. 25 Boise State (2-0) at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Freshman Adam Hall, No. 12 at 149, and Tyler Sherfey, No. 12 at 157, lead the Broncos.
Shotwell catches on with Colts, other former Mustangs make mark in NFL playoffs
Leading up to the most recent NFL Draft, the Indianapolis Colts were reportedly one of the teams to show the most interest in Kyle Shotwell.
As of Wednesday, the former Cal Poly linebacker got a chance to take the field with the Colts, after he signed a free-agent contract with the defending Super Bowl champion.
Shotwell, who won the Buck Buchanan Award as the best defender in the Football Championship Subdivision, was part of the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad for the final five weeks of the regular season.
Prior to that, the leading tackler at the 2007 East-West Shrine All-Star Game played in the preseason for the Oakland Raiders before being one of their last cuts heading into the regular season.
He will officially join Indianapolis in April.
Two other former Mustangs, defensive back Courtney Brown, now with the Dallas Cowboys, and wide receiver Kassim Osgood, currently a special-teams ace with the San Diego Chargers, will join their teams in the playoffs this weekend.
Brown, whose Cowboys kick off at home against the New York Giants at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, had five tackles in their last three regular-season outings.
After the Cowboys’ 28-23 win over the Washington Redskins on Nov. 18, Cowboys star wide receiver Terrell Owens gave a game ball to Brown for his special-teams stop of Antwaan Randle El on a punt return with less than a minute to play.
On the West Coast, meanwhile, Osgood, who set Cal Poly single-game records with 17 catches for 376 yards in a 43-41 loss to Northern Iowa on Nov. 4, 2000, made 11 tackles this season for San Diego, which plays at Indianapolis at 10 a.m. Sunday.
He was named in December to his second straight AFC Pro Bowl squad, with which he will participate as a special teams specialist in Honolulu at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 10.
Volleyball team picks up two prep stars
The Cal Poly volleyball team has added to the future of its looming lineup.
Caitlin Smith, a 6-foot-1 outside hitter from Brea Olinda High in Brea, and Anicia Santos, a 6-foot-1 middle blocker from Summit High in Frisco, Colo., have signed national letters of intent to play for Cal Poly, Mustangs head coach Jon Stevenson recently announced.
Smith, a four-year starter at the prep level, was an All-Century League First Team selection in 2007.
Santos, respectively, was recently selected to play for the USA Youth National Team on its tour of Eastern Europe.
Five starters should return for the Mustangs next season, as should their top six kill leaders.