Mustangs Edged Late by Big West Leader UC Irvine, 59-56

Monday, February 20

San Luis Obispo, CA

7 P.M.

7-22,1-16Big West

UC Irvine

20-8,13-3Big West

Team	1	2	F
UC Irvine	27	32	59
Cal Poly	31	25	56

Photo by: Owen Main

2/20/2023 10:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Senior forward Alimamy Koroma finished with a team leading 15 points and junior guard Camren Pierce (above) scored 14, but the Cal Poly men's basketball program – after leading first place UC Irvine for a majority of the second half – was kept to five points in the final 10-and-a-half minutes and sustained a 59-56 setback Monday evening inside Mott Athletics Center.

Junior forward Brantly Stevenson added 10 points – his 10th double-digit scoring effort in the last 11 games – for Cal Poly (7-22, 1-16), which led UC Irvine (20-6, 13-3), 51-45, midway through the second half.

The Anteaters, who limited Cal Poly to a 32.7 (18-for-55) percent field goal mark, responded by holding Cal Poly scoreless for an ensuing eight-minute stretch.

With Cal Poly then trailing, 52-51, and two-and-a-half minutes to go, Koroma converted a three-point play to place the Mustangs back in front.

However, Anteaters guard Dawson Baker scored on three straight possessions, twice tying the scoreline before a layup with 28 seconds remaining provided UC Irvine a 58-56 advantage.

Pierce missed a jumper on Cal Poly's next possession and, with the Mustangs forced to foul to regain possession, Anteaters guard Andre Henry sank just one of two free throw attempts.

Cal Poly, however, twice missed potential game-tying free throw attempts in the final seconds.

Both Pierce and graduate guard Chance Hunter finished with a team leading six rebounds for Cal Poly, which took its first lead of the evening at 20-19 with four-and-a-half minutes remaining in the first half. The Mustangs closed the final eight minutes of the half with a 16-8 run to take a 31-27 lead into the locker room.

Cal Poly plays two of its final three regular season games at home, a closing stretch that begins on Saturday, Feb. 25 versus UC Davis at 3 p.m.