13-11 (8-4BWC)
UC Riverside
9-14 (4-7BWC)
Cal Poly Maintains Second-Place Standing With 56-40 Victory
2/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Senior guard Shawn Lewis scored 17 points as Cal Poly held its fifth opponent under 50 points, defeating UC Riverside 56-40 in a Big West Conference men's basketball game Saturday night before 2,519 in Mott Gym.
Junior center Will Donahue added 16 points, his second-highest point total of the season, and junior forward David Hanson had 11 as the Mustangs improved to 13-11 on the season with their fifth straight win, their longest winning streak in four years. UC Riverside fell to 9-14 and 4-7.
At 8-4 in Big West games, Cal Poly moved one game ahead of Cal State Northridge for second place. The Matadors fell 79-62 to front-running Long Beach State (15-10, 10-2) on Saturday and the Mustangs host Cal State Northridge on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Mott Gym.
A short jumper by Donahue with 16:07 to go in the first half gave Cal Poly the lead for good at 6-5. The Mustangs led by as many as six points in the opening 20 minutes of play and settled for a 25-21 advantage at the break.
Ahead by just three points four minutes into the second half, Cal Poly pulled away with a 10-2 run to build a 40-29 cushion with 12:33 to play. Hanson ignited the streak with a three-pointer and Donahue ended it with another jumper from the key.
UC Riverside never got closer than eight points the rest of the way and a 16-2 Mustang run gave Cal Poly its largest lead of the game at 56-34 with 3:17 to go. UC Riverside scored just one field goal in a span of eight minutes, 40 seconds midway through the second half.
Cal Poly made just 41.3 percent of its floor shots, including five of 19 three-pointers (missing its first six attempts from long range), but the Mustang defense rose to the occasion once again, limiting the Highlanders to just 36.6 percent efficiency from the floor (three of 13 from long range).
Cal Poly's defense also forced 20 UC Riverside turnovers, nine more than the Mustangs committed.
Rebounds were even at 29 apiece. Donahue finished with six boards for Cal Poly while junior forward Kevin Bradshaw corraled five rebounds for UC Riverside.
The Highlanders' lone double-digit scorer was senior guard Javon Borum with 16 points as he made six of 10 floor shots, three of five from long range.
Cal Poly is 5-0 in games in which it holds the opposition under 50 points. The Mustangs are two games over the .500 mark for the first time this season. At 8-4 in Big West games, Cal Poly has its most Big West triumphs since going 9-5 in the 2006-07 campaign.
The Mustangs, in the midst of playing five home contests in a six-game stretch, will follow Wednesday's Cal State Northridge contest with the Sears ESPNU BracketBuster game Saturday night at home against Northern Arizona at 7 p.m. in Mott Gym.
