Stephan Teodosescu
steodosescu@mustangdaily.net
By Friday, redshirt freshman forward Joel Awich knew he had been granted his first career start for the Cal Poly men’s basketball team. As if that wasn’t enough pressure, it would come in Saturday’s matchup against the Mustangs’ rival, UC Santa Barbara.
Because of a lower leg injury suffered in a Feb. 9 game against UC Davis, Cal Poly’s leading scorer, junior forward Chris Eversley, was forced to sit, giving Awich an opportunity to prove his worth as a starter.
And indeed he proved it, as the 6-foot-7 freshman helped lead Cal Poly to a wire-to-wire 67-49 victory over the Gauchos in front of a sellout crowd in the Mott Athletics Center.
“I was definitely nervous, but I didn’t do anything different (to prepare),” Awich said. “I just took it day by day and worked hard in practice to show (head coach Joe Callero) that I could do it.”
Awich tied a career-high in points with eight on the night and notched a career-high three blocks while matching up defensively against Alan Williams, one of the Big West Conference’s most potent scorers.
“I said that Joel would be more comfortable out there with the veteran starters,” Callero said. “We knew by Friday that (Eversley) was not going to play because his recovery had really been stunted… We said, ‘Joel just go play and do your thing. We believe in you, just stick with your fundamentals.’”
Awich’s night helped pave the way for yet another career night for senior guard Dylan Royer. After scoring a then career-high 20 points off six 3-pointers against UC Davis, Royer erupted again Saturday, scoring 23 points off seven long balls.
With that, the Mustangs (12-11, 8-5) snapped a six-game losing streak against the Gauchos dating back to 2010. They’ve managed just two wins against UC Santa Barbara in their last 13 games in the Blue-Green Rivalry.
But playing in front of their home fans helped the Mustangs shake their rivalry jitters, according to Callero.
“You cannot describe how much energy it gives your guys and how much confidence it gives everybody,” Callero said. “This is without a doubt the best home court advantage in the Big West.”
The Mustangs have won their last 12 Big West games at home dating back to last season, including wins against each team ahead of them in the conference standings.
One of three freshmen to start in the game, Brian Bennett scored a layup on the game’s opening possession to give the Mustangs an early lead Saturday.
A jumper more than two minutes later by Awich, who led the team in minutes played along with Royer, gave Cal Poly a 6-4 advantage — a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way.
The Gauchos kept it close in the first half though thanks, in part, to Williams’ game-high 24 points and 17 rebounds.
Awich threw down a thunderous alley-oop dunk off a feed from junior guard Kyle Odister with 8:49 to go in the opening half giving Cal Poly a 16-11 lead.
Senior guard Drake U’u missed a driving layup with seven seconds in that first period, but Royer stole the ball on UC Santa Barbara’s ensuing possession and hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the half and give the Mustangs a 29-21 advantage.
“Coach Callero told us to keep shooting because they’re good shots, they’re not bad shots,” Royer said. “Eventually they stick in the zone and we’re gonna start hitting 3s and go on a run. That’s definitely what happened.”
Royer and the Mustangs heeded the advice and iced the game with a string of shots from beyond the arc. Odister sank two straight 3-pointers midway through the second half to jumpstart an 8-0 Cal Poly run. He finished in double-figures with 11 points.
The Gauchos got within six points off a Williams 3-point play with 3:53 left, but two more Royer shots from downtown sealed the win for Cal Poly.
The Mustangs remain in fourth place in the Big West standings and will take a 2-10 road record to Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday before returning home to face off against Loyola Marymount in a 2013 Ramada Worldwide Bracketbuster matchup on Saturday.