Cal Poly Hosts UC Irvine, UC San Diego to Close Regular Season

Thursday, March 3

San Luis Obispo, CA

7 p.m.

UC Irvine

Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics

Cal Poly Hosts UC Irvine, UC San Diego to Close Regular Season

2/28/2022 4:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball

COMPLETE WEEKLY RELEASE

SAN LUIS OBISPO – The Cal Poly men's basketball program completes its 27-game regular season schedule when hosting UC Irvine (Thursday, March 3) and UC San Diego (Saturday, March 5) inside Mott Athletics Center. Tip time is 7 p.m. both evenings for Cal Poly (5-20, 1-12), which resumes action Thursday following a week break and looks to snap an eight-game slide when facing UC Irvine. Entering play this week in 10th place in the Big West Conference standings, Cal Poly – regardless of upcoming results – will open the March 8, 9-12 Big West Tournament with an opening-round matchup on Tuesday, March 8. Winners of eight of its last nine games to climb to fourth place in the Big West standings, UC Irvine (14-8, 8-4) has held opponents to a Big West low 59.2 points per game. Cal Poly's Saturday regular season finale versus UC San Diego (12-15) will not count toward the Big West standings with the Tritons completing their Division I reclassification. UC San Diego, edged at home by Cal Poly on Jan. 27 (59-55), snapped a three-game slide with an 81-76 home victory against second place Cal State Fullerton (Feb. 26).

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

CAL POLY VERSUS UC IRVINE: The Mustangs look to snap a 10-game slide against UC Irvine after dropping the Jan. 29 season series road opener, 72-48. Overall, UC Irvine has prevailed in 16 of the past 17 meetings and leads both the all-time (40-22) and Division I (37-19) series.

CAL POLY VERSUS UC SAN DIEGO: Hosting UC San Diego for the first time since Nov. 18, 2005 and facing the Tritons for just the second time in the past 16 seasons, Cal Poly's 59-55 season series-opening road victory on Jan. 27 marked its eighth straight victory versus UCSD. Cal Poly leads both the all-time (8-1) and Division I (3-0) series.

FIVE FOR FIGHTING: With seven Mustangs currently averaging at least 21.0 minutes per game, Cal Poly has used 12 different starting lineups this season. Cal Poly has not used the same starting lineup more than five times.

SCHEDULING HOLES: Cal Poly's scheduled Feb. 17 visit to UC Davis marked the fifth contest Cal Poly has had cancelled this season due to COVID protocols. Previously, the Mustangs saw their final non-conference game at No. 4 UCLA (Dec. 22) halted before the opening three scheduled Big West games were cancelled.

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 17 double-digit scoring outings, including a career best 26-point effort as half of his fourth career double-double at UC Riverside (Feb. 19) – ranks 12th among Big West players with 13.4 points per game. Having also scored 23 points against Nicholls State (Nov. 22), 21 versus UC Davis (Jan. 15) and 20 against CSUN (Feb. 10), Koroma has shot 50 percent or higher in a game 15 times and ranks third among Big West players with a 51.0 (131-for-257) percent field goal mark. Now Cal Poly's co-leader at 5.4 rebounds per game following an 11-board performance at UC Riverside, Koroma matched a career best with 12 rebounds at Long Beach State (Feb. 5). With 35 career double-digit scoring games, Koroma is averaging 10.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while shooting 50.6 (288-for-569) percent through 73 collegiate outings and 46 starts. On 60 career blocks – a total that includes a five-block performance versus UC Davis (Jan. 15) – Koroma enters Thursday's game tied for eighth in program history and one ahead of senior forward Tuukka Jaakkola (59).

TAYLOR PRODUCES AT BOTH ENDS: An offseason transfer from James Madison by way of Wyoming, junior guard Trevon Taylor produced his 10th double-digit scoring game as a Mustang with 14 points against CSU Bakersfield (Feb. 22) and ranks second in the lineup with 8.4 points per night and a 44.6 (66-for-148) percent field goal mark. Taylor, who scored a career best 27 points at Portland (Dec. 13) and added 17 at UC San Diego (Jan. 27), remains one of only three Mustangs with a double-double thus far after scoring 15 points and grabbing a career best 10 rebounds against Sacramento State (Nov. 15). With seven rebounds at Hawai'i (Feb. 24), Taylor also leads the program with 5.4 boards per game. Having also grabbed nine rebounds versus Nicholls State (Nov. 22) and California Baptist (Dec. 2), Taylor has started 23 of 25 matchups.

PIERCE'S DISTRIBUTION EFFORTS: Now second in Cal Poly's lineup with 8.7 points per game, sophomore point guard Camren Pierce leads all Big West players with 97 total assists and ranks second 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) and CSU Bakersfield (Feb. 22), Pierce has produced six-plus assists six times this season. Offensively, Pierce – who scored a career best 16 points versus Hawai'i and 15 at California Baptist (Dec. 2), against UC Davis and at Hawai'i (Feb. 24) – owns 11 double-digit scoring games this season. Cal Poly's leading free throw shooter and ranked third among Big West players at 83.8 (67-for-80) percent, Pierce enters Thursday's matchup versus UC Irvine having converted 39 of his previous 42 opportunities.

STEVENSON CLIMBS THE SCORING CHART: Averaging 13.4 points per Cal Poly's last five matchups, sophomore forward Brantly Stevenson has scored in double figures in five of the last seven games, most recently notching 14 points at Hawai'i (Feb. 24). Having matched a career best with 17 against CSUN (Feb. 10), Stevenson – a starter in 17 of 25 games – is fourth in the lineup at 8.2 points per night.

LOOKING AHEAD: Cal Poly opens the 2022 Big West Conference Tournament inside the Dollar Loan Center (Henderson, Nev.) on Tuesday, March 8 against a yet-to-be determined opponent. As the No. 10 seed last year, Cal Poly's 87-82, opening-round victory against Cal State Fullerton marked the program's first Big West Tournament victory since winning the title in 2014.

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 … Cal Poly's 83-78 double-overtime home loss to CSUN marked the program's lengthiest game since a four-overtime setback at Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 15, 2020 … Cal Poly's 78-58 setback at UC Riverside (Feb. 19) marked the program's 400th Big West Conference game … Cal Poly's Feb. 24 visit to Hawai'i marked just the program's third game outside of California this season and first outside the Pacific Time Zone.