11-11 (4-6)
CSUN
6-20 (2-9)
Cal Poly Men's Basketball Fends off CSUN in Second Half for 70-63 Win
2/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
POSTGAME REACTION: JOE CALLERO | JOEL AWICH
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Sophomore guard Ridge Shipley (right) scored a career-high 26 points as the Cal Poly men's basketball program – after building a double-digit lead in the first half – fended off a late CSUN run down the stretch to prevail against the Matadors inside Mott Athletics Center on Thursday evening, 70-63.
Junior guard Reese Morgan added 16 points and junior forward Joel Awich finished with 15 for Cal Poly (11-11, 4-6), which led 33-19 at the break before the Matadors (6-20, 2-9) opened the second half with a 20-9 run to cut the gap to three points.
Holding a 47-44 lead with three minutes to play, however, the Mustangs received layups from senior guard Maliik Love, Shipley and Morgan in a 93-second span before Morgan knocked down a pair of free throws to reaffirm Cal Poly's double-digit lead.
The Mustangs, who defeated CSUN for the sixth time in the last seven meetings, then held a minimum seven-point cushion the remainder of the evening.
Cal Poly, which received a team-leading eight rebounds from Love, shot 45.7 (21-for-46) percent on the evening, attempted a season-high 36 free throws and matched a season high with eight blocks. Individually, Awich matched a career high with four blocks.
Cal Poly, which snapped a three-game slide with Thursday's victory, closes a three-game home stand on Saturday, Feb. 14 versus Long Beach State at 7 p.m.
The Mustangs trailed just once and by only two points early on Thursday. Behind a 17-2 run during an eight-minute span midway through the first half, the Mustangs vaulted out to a 19-6 advantage.
Cal Poly, which kept CSUN to a 31.6 (9-for-29) percent field goal mark in the first half, twice led by 19 points – the second advantage coming at 31-12 following a Love layup three minutes before the break.
With Thursday's loss, CSUN – alongside UC Riverside – remained one of two Big West Conference programs to have never won inside Mott Athletics Center under a Joe Callero-coached Cal Poly squad. The Matadors and Highlanders are a combined 0-12.
Photo courtesy of Ray Ambler
