Saturday, January 29
Irvine, CA
6 p.m.
at
UC Irvine
Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics
Cal Poly Continues Road Swing Saturday at UC Irvine
1/28/2022 12:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
COMPLETE GAME PREVIEW
SAN LUIS OBISPO – The Cal Poly men's basketball program continues a four-game road trip and closes January with a Saturday, Jan. 29 visit to UC Irvine. Tip time from the Bren Events Center is 7 p.m. for Cal Poly (5-12, 1-4), which opened its road swing by overcoming a 13-point, second-half deficit to edge UC San Diego on Thursday, 59-55. Despite the victory (non-countable in the Big West Conference standings with UC San Diego still in its Division I reclassifying process), Cal Poly enters Saturday's matchup at UC Irvine (7-7, 2-3) tied for eighth alongside CSU Bakersfield (6-8, 1-4). It was fifth-place UC Irvine, snapping a three-game slide, that knocked CSU Bakersfield into eighth place after handing the Roadrunners a 57-52 Thursday defeat.
FOLLOW CAL POLY SATURDAY: Chris Sylvester provides play-by-play for ESPN 1280 (San Luis Obispo County) and GoPoly.com of Saturday's matchup at UC Irvine HERE … streaming video through ESPN+ and live stats will also be available via GoPoly.com HERE.
CAL POLY VERSUS UC IRVINE: The Anteaters have won nine successive decisions against Cal Poly and 15 of the past 16 matchups, last eliminating the Mustangs from the 2021 Big West Tournament with a 58-51 quarterfinal victory. Cal Poly's last victory against UC Irvine was a 79-66 road win (Jan. 26, 2017). UC Irvine leads both the all-time (39-22) and Division I series (36-19).
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 12 double-digit scoring outings, including a career best 23-point effort against Nicholls State (Nov. 22), a 21-point outing versus UC Davis (Jan. 15) and 19-point nights versus Sacramento State (Nov. 15) and at UC San Diego (Jan. 27) – ranks ninth among Big West players with 13.8 points per game. Koroma, who secured his second career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds against Hawai'i (Jan. 22), also leads Cal Poly and ranks second among Big West players with a 52.2 (95-for-182) percent field goal mark. With 31 career double-digit scoring games, Koroma is averaging 10.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 51.0 (252-for-494) percent through 65 collegiate outings. On 49 career blocks following a five-block performance versus UC Davis, Koroma is tied with former Mustang and current Houston Rockets guard David Nwaba (2013-16) for 10th place in program history.
TAYLOR PRODUCES AT BOTH ENDS: An offseason transfer from James Madison by way of Wyoming, junior guard Trevon Taylor produced his sixth double-digit scoring game as Mustang with 17 points at UC San Diego (Jan. 27). Taylor, who scored a career best 27 points at Portland (Dec. 13), remains one of only three Mustangs with a double-double thus far after scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds against Sacramento State (Nov. 15). With eight points at UC San Diego (Jan. 27), 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 has started 15 of 17 matchups while ranking second in the lineup with 8.5 points per game.
PIERCE'S DISTRIBUTION EFFORTS: One of only two Mustangs to start all 17 games alongside forward Alimamy Koroma, sophomore point guard Camren Pierce leads all Big West players with 67 total assists and ranks third with 3.9 per game. Having twice distributed a career best eight assists at San Diego (Dec. 5) and versus UC Davis (Jan. 15) and seven against Hawai'i (Jan. 22), Pierce has produced six-plus assists five times this season. Offensively, Pierce – who scored a career best 16 points versus Hawai'i and 15 at California Baptist (Dec. 2) and against UC Davis – owns six double-digit scoring games this season and ranks second in Cal Poly's lineup with 8.5 points per evening. Having converted 19 successive free throw opportunities after finishing 9-for-9 against Hawai'i (Jan. 22) and 7-for-7 at UC San Diego (Jan. 27), Pierce ranks fourth in the Big West with an 82.5 (47-for-57) percent mark.
LOOKING AHEAD: Cal Poly opens February and completes its four-game road swing at Big West co-leader Cal State Fullerton (Thursday, Feb. 3) and Long Beach State (Saturday, Feb. 5). After seeing last year's regular season series against Cal State Fullerton cancelled, Cal Poly topped the Titans in the opening round of the 2021 Big West Tournament, 87-82. Long Beach State, meanwhile, swept last year's series from Cal Poly and has won five straight matchups against the Mustangs inside the Walter Pyramid.
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) … Cal Poly's 59-55 win at UC San Diego (Jan. 27) marked the program's first meeting with the Tritons as a Big West opponent, first matchup against UCSD since Nov. 18, 2005 and first visit to UCSD since Jan. 11, 1977.
SAN LUIS OBISPO – The Cal Poly men's basketball program continues a four-game road trip and closes January with a Saturday, Jan. 29 visit to UC Irvine. Tip time from the Bren Events Center is 7 p.m. for Cal Poly (5-12, 1-4), which opened its road swing by overcoming a 13-point, second-half deficit to edge UC San Diego on Thursday, 59-55. Despite the victory (non-countable in the Big West Conference standings with UC San Diego still in its Division I reclassifying process), Cal Poly enters Saturday's matchup at UC Irvine (7-7, 2-3) tied for eighth alongside CSU Bakersfield (6-8, 1-4). It was fifth-place UC Irvine, snapping a three-game slide, that knocked CSU Bakersfield into eighth place after handing the Roadrunners a 57-52 Thursday defeat.
FOLLOW CAL POLY SATURDAY: Chris Sylvester provides play-by-play for ESPN 1280 (San Luis Obispo County) and GoPoly.com of Saturday's matchup at UC Irvine HERE … streaming video through ESPN+ and live stats will also be available via GoPoly.com HERE.
CAL POLY VERSUS UC IRVINE: The Anteaters have won nine successive decisions against Cal Poly and 15 of the past 16 matchups, last eliminating the Mustangs from the 2021 Big West Tournament with a 58-51 quarterfinal victory. Cal Poly's last victory against UC Irvine was a 79-66 road win (Jan. 26, 2017). UC Irvine leads both the all-time (39-22) and Division I series (36-19).
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 12 double-digit scoring outings, including a career best 23-point effort against Nicholls State (Nov. 22), a 21-point outing versus UC Davis (Jan. 15) and 19-point nights versus Sacramento State (Nov. 15) and at UC San Diego (Jan. 27) – ranks ninth among Big West players with 13.8 points per game. Koroma, who secured his second career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds against Hawai'i (Jan. 22), also leads Cal Poly and ranks second among Big West players with a 52.2 (95-for-182) percent field goal mark. With 31 career double-digit scoring games, Koroma is averaging 10.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 51.0 (252-for-494) percent through 65 collegiate outings. On 49 career blocks following a five-block performance versus UC Davis, Koroma is tied with former Mustang and current Houston Rockets guard David Nwaba (2013-16) for 10th place in program history.
TAYLOR PRODUCES AT BOTH ENDS: An offseason transfer from James Madison by way of Wyoming, junior guard Trevon Taylor produced his sixth double-digit scoring game as Mustang with 17 points at UC San Diego (Jan. 27). Taylor, who scored a career best 27 points at Portland (Dec. 13), remains one of only three Mustangs with a double-double thus far after scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds against Sacramento State (Nov. 15). With eight points at UC San Diego (Jan. 27), 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 has started 15 of 17 matchups while ranking second in the lineup with 8.5 points per game.
PIERCE'S DISTRIBUTION EFFORTS: One of only two Mustangs to start all 17 games alongside forward Alimamy Koroma, sophomore point guard Camren Pierce leads all Big West players with 67 total assists and ranks third with 3.9 per game. Having twice distributed a career best eight assists at San Diego (Dec. 5) and versus UC Davis (Jan. 15) and seven against Hawai'i (Jan. 22), Pierce has produced six-plus assists five times this season. Offensively, Pierce – who scored a career best 16 points versus Hawai'i and 15 at California Baptist (Dec. 2) and against UC Davis – owns six double-digit scoring games this season and ranks second in Cal Poly's lineup with 8.5 points per evening. Having converted 19 successive free throw opportunities after finishing 9-for-9 against Hawai'i (Jan. 22) and 7-for-7 at UC San Diego (Jan. 27), Pierce ranks fourth in the Big West with an 82.5 (47-for-57) percent mark.
LOOKING AHEAD: Cal Poly opens February and completes its four-game road swing at Big West co-leader Cal State Fullerton (Thursday, Feb. 3) and Long Beach State (Saturday, Feb. 5). After seeing last year's regular season series against Cal State Fullerton cancelled, Cal Poly topped the Titans in the opening round of the 2021 Big West Tournament, 87-82. Long Beach State, meanwhile, swept last year's series from Cal Poly and has won five straight matchups against the Mustangs inside the Walter Pyramid.
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) … Cal Poly's 59-55 win at UC San Diego (Jan. 27) marked the program's first meeting with the Tritons as a Big West opponent, first matchup against UCSD since Nov. 18, 2005 and first visit to UCSD since Jan. 11, 1977.
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