Cal Poly Hosts Big West Undefeated Hawai’i Saturday Evening

Saturday, January 22

San Luis Obispo, CA

7 p.m.

Hawai'i

Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics

Cal Poly Hosts Big West Undefeated Hawai’i Saturday Evening

1/21/2022 11:34:00 AM | Men's Basketball

COMPLETE GAME PREVIEW

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Prior to embarking on a four-game road trip to close January and open February, the Cal Poly men's basketball program hosts Hawai'i – undefeated in Big West Conference action – on Saturday, Jan. 22. Tip time from Mott Athletics Center is 7 p.m. for Cal Poly (4-11, 1-3), which plays just its third home game in the past 68 days when facing Hawai'i (8-5, 3-0). Three days after earning its first Big West win of the season versus UC Davis (Jan. 15), Cal Poly dropped a 73-60 Tuesday decision at CSU Bakersfield. Hawai'i, meanwhile, handed CSU Bakersfield a 63-59 Thursday defeat and enters Saturday's round of Big West games trailing conference leader Cal State Fullerton (10-5, 4-0) by just a half game in the standings. Attempting to snap Hawai'i's four-game winning streak, Cal Poly – sharing seventh place alongside CSUN (5-11, 1-3) and CSU Bakersfield (6-7, 1-3) – trails Hawai'i by just two-and-a-half games in the Big West standings.

FOLLOW CAL POLY SATURDAY: Chris Sylvester provides streaming play-by-play for ESPN+ HERE while Zachary Anderson-Yoxsimer handles audio play-by-play for ESPN 1280 (San Luis Obispo County) and GoPoly.com HERE of Saturday's matchup against Hawai'i … live stats will also be available via GoPoly.com HERE.

CAL POLY VERSUS HAWAI'I: Cal Poly has won three successive home matchups against the Rainbow Warriors – its lengthiest home winning streak versus any Big West opponent – but Hawai'i leads the all-time series (13-8) after sweeping last year's two-game series on O'ahu.

KOROMA CONTINUES SCORING WAYS: One of Cal Poly's top two scorers for a second straight season, junior forward Alimamy Koroma – fueled by a team leading 10 double-digit scoring outings, including a career best 23-point effort against Nicholls State (Nov. 22) and a 21-point outing versus UC Davis (Jan. 15) – ranks ninth among Big West players with 13.3 points per game. Koroma, who added 19 points against Sacramento State (Nov. 15) and 18 at CSU Bakersfield (Jan. 18), also leads Cal Poly and ranks third among Big West players with a 52.3 (80-for-153) percent field goal mark. With 29 career double-digit scoring games, Koroma is averaging 10.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while shooting 51.0 (237-for-465) percent through 63 collegiate outings. On 47 career blocks following a five-block performance versus UC Davis, Koroma needs just two more to match former Mustang and current Houston Rockets guard David Nwaba (2013-16) for 10th place in program history.

COLVIN CLIMBS THE SCORING CHART: With six double-digit scoring games – including a 24-point performance at CSUN (Jan. 8) – sophomore forward Kyle Colvin ranks second in the lineup with 8.9 points per game. Colvin's 28-point, 10-rebound outing versus Idaho (Nov. 24) marked his first career double-double and the highest scoring game by a Mustang this season. Colvin also scored 18 points at Santa Clara (Nov. 19). Having grabbed seven-plus rebounds four times this season, Colvin – who redshirted last year – is also Cal Poly's second leading rebounder at 4.7 boards per game. Through 41 collegiate games, Colvin is averaging 7.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per night.

PIERCE'S DISTRIBUTION EFFORTS: One of only two Mustangs to start all 15 games alongside forward Alimamy Koroma, sophomore point guard Camren Pierce leads all Big West players with 57 total assists and ranks fourth with 3.8 per game. Having twice produced a career best eight assists at San Diego (Dec. 5) and versus UC Davis (Jan. 15), Pierce has produced six-plus assists four times this season. Offensively, Pierce – who has scored a career best 15 points at California Baptist (Dec. 2) and against UC Davis – owns four double-digit scoring games this season and ranks fourth in Cal Poly's lineup with 7.7 points per evening.

TAYLOR ON THE BOARDS: An offseason transfer from James Madison by way of Wyoming, junior guard Trevon Taylor surpassed his previous collegiate scoring best as a 27-point performance at Portland (Dec. 13) remains the second highest offensive output by a Mustang this season. One of only two Mustangs with a double-double thus far after scoring a Cal Poly best 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds against Sacramento State (Nov. 15), Taylor maintains the program's rebounding lead with 5.4 boards per night. Having also grabbed nine rebounds versus Nicholls State (Nov. 22) and California Baptist (Dec. 2), Taylor – owner of five double-digit scoring games – has started 13 of 15 matchups while ranking third in the lineup with 8.1 points per game.

CLOSE, BUT …: Seven of Cal Poly's 15 games thus far have been decided by four points or fewer with the Mustangs holding just a 2-5 record in those outcomes. Cal Poly's two victories were a 67-63, neutral-site win against Idaho (Nov. 24) and a 61-58 decision at Portland State (Dec. 11). Excluding an 87-57 loss at Santa Clara (Nov. 19) and an 83-48 defeat at Fresno State (Dec. 17), Cal Poly's remaining nine defeats have come by an average of 6.1 points per game. The Mustangs have already sustained three one-point defeats versus Sacramento State (Nov. 15), San Diego (Dec. 5) and Portland (Dec. 13) and an overtime loss to Nicholls State (Nov. 22).

LOOKING AHEAD: Cal Poly closes January and opens February with a four-game road trip, starting on Thursday, Jan. 27 at UC San Diego. The matchup marks Cal Poly's first meeting with the Tritons as a Big West opponent and first contest versus UC San Diego since Nov. 18, 2005. The road trip then continues at UC Irvine (Saturday, Jan. 29), Cal State Fullerton (Thursday, Feb. 3) and Long Beach State (Saturday, Feb. 5).

ETC.: Since transitioning to the Division I level prior to the 1994-95 season, Cal Poly improved to 44-1 against non-Division I programs with an 86-53 home win against NAIA Westcliff (Nov. 9) … a 75-72 overtime loss versus Nicholls State (Nov. 22) marked Cal Poly's first all-time meeting against the Colonels … sophomore forward Kyle Colvin was name to SoCal Challenge All-Tournament Team (Nov. 24) after averaging 19.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game as Cal Poly finished third … Cal Poly captured third place at the inaugural SoCal Challenge (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) with a 67-63 victory versus Idaho (Nov. 24) … Cal Poly's 61-58 victory at Portland State marked the program's first road win since a 71-45 triumph at UC Riverside on Jan. 31, 2019 … Cal Poly's nine-game road trip (Nov. 19-Jan. 8) was the program's lengthiest since playing 12 successive games away from home during the 1970-71 season (Dec. 12-Jan. 22). Cal Poly also played nine straight road games to open the 1968-69 season … Cal Poly's 22-day gap between games from Dec. 17 to Jan. 8 was the fifth lengthiest stretch of any Division I program this year … Cal Poly's 59-day gap between a Nov. 15 matchup versus Sacramento State and a Jan. 13 contest against UC Riverside was – by 17 days more than Manhattan – the lengthiest stretch between home games of any Division I program this season … Cal Poly's 57-46 home loss versus UC Riverside marked the program's 800th Division I game (1994-95-) … Cal Poly snapped a nine-game series slide against UC Davis with an 82-74 home victory (Jan. 15).