The big left palm of guard Shawn Lewis followed through as the ball traveled toward the hoop with eight seconds left in the game. The 3-pointer swished through the net, completing a Cal Poly rally to tie the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 56-56. The lone senior, on a night dedicated to his career, looked like he might be the hero once again.
And then, it was déjà vu.
A quick series of passes found Northern Arizona guard Cameron Jones wide open from behind the 3-point line. And like the similar situation the Mustangs faced against UC Santa Barbara weeks ago, he swished home a shot as time expired to give the Lumberjacks a 59-56 victory.
The Mustangs fell to 14-12 on the season, snapping their six-game win streak. Lewis led all scorers with 25 points, while grabbing nine rebounds.
But for Lewis this game was much more than just statistics — it was his farewell to Mott Gym.
“I love the students, the student participation at the games,” Lewis said. “I love this gym, I love this team, I love Coach Callero and I love all my teammates. Like I said, this is not the end of us, at all.”
Head coach Joe Callero took the microphone from the PA announcer and asked the fans to thank Lewis again, then thanked the fans for cheering loudly and said he cannot wait to see them next season.
“We had 2,500 people there, great atmosphere and they need to know they are appreciated,” Callero said. “We need to appreciate what Shawn’s done for the program and we need to let the fans know that they’re appreciated.”
The Mustangs trailed by four points with 1:50 remaining in the game and forward David Hanson threw up two 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions. Both hit iron and bounced into Lumberjack hands. Hanson went on to foul Austin Smith, but he missed the front end of a one-and-one.
Cal Poly knew who to hand the ball to with their late possession. Lewis found a spot just to the right of the top of the arc and let one fly with 25 seconds to go, but the ball bounced away only to be corralled by center Will Donahue, who quickly dished it back to Lewis.
This time he did not miss. However, the Mustangs were still down one point with 18 seconds to go. So, guard Maliik Love fouled Gabe Rogers, who converted both of his attempts, leading to the late-game theatrics.
“We have more games to go and this is not the end of our season,” Lewis said. “This game doesn’t make us or break us, this game just prepares us for Anaheim. I’m ready for Anaheim and I’m ready for the next game.”
The story line coming into the matchup was the Mustangs’ nation-best 3-point defense and the Lumberjacks nation-best 3-point shooting offense. However, neither team made a shot from behind the arc until Northern Arizona’s Eric Platt hit one with 3:12 to go in the first half.
Northern Arizona would end the game shooting only 30 percent from 3-point range, 14 points below its season average.
The Mustangs roared out of the break to start the second half. Cal Poly went on a 14-4 run over five and a half minutes, with the help of seven points from Lewis.
Love, who sat for 16 minutes of the first half after picking up two quick fouls, reentered the game in the second half and, according to Lewis, helped the team catch a spark.
“Maliik is a phenomenal freshman,” Lewis said. “He just makes us click … That’s what a point guard is supposed to do and that’s definitely what he does.”
Lewis had more high praise for Love, and said he sees the point guard emerging as a team-leader in the coming years.
In the meantime, Hanson could not be more appreciative of his senior teammate.
“I think words can’t describe the value (Lewis) brings to this team,” Hanson said. “He’s been huge for us all year and it’s unfortunate we weren’t able to win here on senior night, but we’ll respond.”
The Mustangs will take the court again Thursday, when they travel to face Big West-leader Long Beach State. Although the team does not return home this season, they will make the brief trip south March 5 as the Mustangs look to avenge their tough loss to UC Santa Barbara on the road.