3-3
Illinois-Chicago
3-2
Cal Poly Falls to Illinois-Chicago at NIU Thanksgiving Classic, 84-71
11/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
POSTGAME REACTION: JOE CALLERO AND JAYLEN SHEAD
DeKALB, Ill. – Sophomore guard Jaylen Shead finished with a career high 20 points, but the Cal Poly men's basketball team couldn't bridge a 21-point halftime deficit against Illinois-Chicago Friday afternoon and dropped an 84-71 decision at the Northern Illinois-hosted Thanksgiving Classic.
Sophomore guard Donovan Fields added 16 points for Cal Poly (3-3), which matched a program single game record with a 94.1 (16-for-17) percent free throw mark. Trailing 46-25 at the break, Cal Poly cut Illinois-Chicago's lead to single digits three times in the second half, but drew no closer than eight points down the stretch.
Facing Illinois-Chicago for the first time in program history, Cal Poly shot 38.5 (25-for-65) percent from the floor while conceding a 53.1 (26-for-49) percent mark to the Flames (3-2).
Junior guard Victor Joseph chipped in 11 points while Shead pulled down a game high eight rebounds for Cal Poly.
Cal Poly, which opened the NIU Thanksgiving Classic by defeating the host Huskies 68-64 on Wednesday, closes tournament action against Elon on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 11 a.m. PT. Elon defeated UIC on Wednesday and Northern Illinois on Friday.
Held to a 0-for-5 start from the floor Saturday, Cal Poly found itself trailing Illinois-Chicago 9-0 after just two-and-a-half minutes. Cal Poly eventually snapped its drought through a Shead layup, but the Flames – who knocked down three of their first four three-point attempts – increased the lead to 19-6 just five minutes into action.
The Mustangs managed to close to a 19-9 deficit a minute later following a three-pointer by senior guard Ridge Shipley. The Flames, however, kept Cal Poly to just one basket during the next four minutes to go up by as much as 28-11 10 minutes before the break.
A 9-2 Cal Poly run backboned by a Shead three-pointer and layup allowed Cal Poly to close to another 10-point deficit at 30-20 with seven minutes left in the half. The Flames, however, received 12 points from forward Dikembe Dixson as part of a 16-5 run to close the opening half and lead 46-25 at the break.
Facing its largest halftime deficit in 99 games and since trailing Weber State (45-18) in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament on March 20, 2013, Cal Poly opened the second half with a 12-5 run to close on Illinois-Chicago's lead at 51-37 with 15 minutes to go. Three-and-a-half minutes later, senior forward Zach Gordon converted a three-point play to trim the deficit to 57-47.
The Mustangs moved within single digits of Illinois-Chicago's lead three times in the next six minutes. Trailing 68-59 and with six minutes left on the clock, however, Cal Poly was held to just one field goal during a three-minute stretch and fell behind 74-59.
