Cal Poly Earns First Division I Win Under John Smith, 70-66 Over Siena

Saturday, December 7

7 pm

2-7,0-0Big West

Siena

2-5,0-0MAAC

Siena

Cal Poly

Cal Poly Earns First Division I Win Under John Smith, 70-66 Over Siena

12/7/2019 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Sophomore guard Junior Ballard led a balanced Cal Poly scoring attack with 15 points as the Mustangs earned their initial Division I win under first-year head coach John Smith with a come-from-behind 70-66 victory over Siena on Saturday night.

Cal Poly (2-7), which trailed by 11 points two minutes into the second half, also received a career-high 14 points from freshman forward Alimamy Koroma (pictured above) and 12 each from graduate wing Malek Harwell and freshman guard Colby Rogers.

Siena (2-5) was led by graduate guard Matt Hein and sophomore guard Jalen Pickett, each with 16 points. Junior guard/forward Manny Camper added 12 points.

It was Cal Poly's first all-time win versus a current Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) school and the Mustangs' first game at home since Nov. 15, an 89-45 win over NAIA Simpson College, following a five-game road trip to Saint Mary's, Creighton, Iowa and two contests in Las Vegas.

Siena scored the final six points of the first half for a 33-28 lead and stretched the advantage to 11 points at 39-28 with a 6-0 start to the second half.

Cal Poly then went on a 17-6 run to tie the game at 45-45 with 11:26 to play. Ballard led the charge with three consecutive baskets to cap the run.

Each team had several small leads for the next six minutes before Cal Poly established control with a 14-2 run, snapping a 54-54 tie and building a 68-56 advantage with 1:09 to play. Koroma's offensive rebound and putback completed the Mustang spurt.

Siena managed to cut the deficit to two points at 68-66, Camper climaxing the 10-0 run with a layup with 11 seconds remaining, but Harwell clinched the win by sinking two free throws with three seconds left.

Siena outrebounded Cal Poly 40-32, led by graduate forward Elijah Burns with 10 boards and nine from Camper, but the Mustangs made 50 percent of their floor shots (25 of 50) compared to 43 percent for the Saints (27 of 65).

Koroma grabbed seven rebounds for Cal Poly while senior guard Job Alexander contributed four assists to go with his seven points.

Cal Poly remains home next week following Fall Quarter finals, hosting Fresno State on Saturday (Dec. 14) at 7 p.m.

Photo at top of page of Alimamy Koroma courtesy of Owen Main | www.fansmanship.com