Saturday, February 24
San Luis Obispo, CA
7 p.m.
4-24,0-16Big West
78
vs
84
UC Riverside
13-16,8-9Big West
1
2
F
UC Riverside
34
50
84
Cal Poly
29
49
78
Team Stats
UCR
CPO
FG%
.491
.509
3FG%
.368
.391
FT%
.808
.579
RB
38
24
TO
11
8
STL
4
2
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
35
FGM
12
3FGM
2
FTM
9
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
C
/ Men's Basketball
PG
/ Men's Basketball
SG
/ Men's Basketball
PG
/ Men's Basketball
CG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Eyasu Betwos
Sanders with 35, but Second-Half Rally Comes Up Short
2/24/2024 10:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Senior guard Kobe Sanders (above) finished with a career best 35 points – his fourth 30-point game of the season – but the Cal Poly men's basketball program, which trailed UC Riverside by 21 points with nine minutes remaining before cutting the deficit to three in the final minute, fell to the Highlanders Saturday evening, 84-78.
Sanders, a double-digit scorer in all 25 appearances this season, scored 26 of Cal Poly's final 37 points during the last nine minutes as the Mustangs cut a 62-41 deficit to 77-71 with 44 seconds to play. Following a UC Riverside turnover, Sanders hit a layup, then – with 12 seconds remaining – a three-pointer to shorten UC Riverside's lead to 81-78.
With Cal Poly still forced to foul, Highlanders guard Isaiah Moses converted just one of two free throw attempts, but Sanders missed a three-pointer on the opposite end. With the Mustangs fouling once more, Moses then knocked down two free throws to finalize the scoring.
Freshman Justin Page added a career best 13 points alongside fellow guard Jarred Hyder for Cal Poly, which committed just eight turnovers and shot 51.9 (14-for-27) percent during the second half.
Playing three of its final four matchups on the road to close the year, Cal Poly resumes action at UC Santa Barbara on Thursday, Feb. 29. Tip time on ESPN+ is 7 p.m.
During Saturday's matchup, Cal Poly and UC Riverside traded five lead changes inside the opening eight minutes before the Highlanders broke a 16-16 deadlock with a 9-2 run.
Freshman guard Quentin Jones and Hyder sank successive three-pointers for the Mustangs to slow UC Riverside's pace before layups from Sanders and junior center Joel Armotrading handed Cal Poly a 27-26 lead four minutes before the break.
UC Riverside though hit two three-pointers during the final three minutes of the half to take a 34-29 advantage into the locker room. The Highlanders then opened the second half with an 8-0 run to go up 42-29 with just under 17 minutes remaining.
Sanders, a double-digit scorer in all 25 appearances this season, scored 26 of Cal Poly's final 37 points during the last nine minutes as the Mustangs cut a 62-41 deficit to 77-71 with 44 seconds to play. Following a UC Riverside turnover, Sanders hit a layup, then – with 12 seconds remaining – a three-pointer to shorten UC Riverside's lead to 81-78.
With Cal Poly still forced to foul, Highlanders guard Isaiah Moses converted just one of two free throw attempts, but Sanders missed a three-pointer on the opposite end. With the Mustangs fouling once more, Moses then knocked down two free throws to finalize the scoring.
Freshman Justin Page added a career best 13 points alongside fellow guard Jarred Hyder for Cal Poly, which committed just eight turnovers and shot 51.9 (14-for-27) percent during the second half.
Playing three of its final four matchups on the road to close the year, Cal Poly resumes action at UC Santa Barbara on Thursday, Feb. 29. Tip time on ESPN+ is 7 p.m.
During Saturday's matchup, Cal Poly and UC Riverside traded five lead changes inside the opening eight minutes before the Highlanders broke a 16-16 deadlock with a 9-2 run.
Freshman guard Quentin Jones and Hyder sank successive three-pointers for the Mustangs to slow UC Riverside's pace before layups from Sanders and junior center Joel Armotrading handed Cal Poly a 27-26 lead four minutes before the break.
UC Riverside though hit two three-pointers during the final three minutes of the half to take a 34-29 advantage into the locker room. The Highlanders then opened the second half with an 8-0 run to go up 42-29 with just under 17 minutes remaining.
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