Long Beach State
Win and In: Mustangs Pursue Big West Championships Spot Saturday
3/7/2025 12:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Winners of three of its last four, the Cal Poly men’s basketball program need only defeat Long Beach State in the Saturday, March 8 regular season finale to claim one of the conference’s remaining two sports for the March 12-15 Big West Championship. Tip time from Walter Pyramid is 4 p.m. on ESPN+ for Cal Poly, which began Big West play 0-8 and as the only conference side without a win before prevailing in seven of its last 11 to climb into postseason contention. Following Thursday’s 100-61 home finale victory versus Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly (13-18, 7-12) enters Saturday’s matchup tied for eighth place alongside Hawai’i (15-15, 7-12) with both programs trailing seventh-place Cal State Bakersfield (14-18, 8-12) by just a half-game. A Cal Poly victory Saturday at Long Beach State, coupled with a Hawai’i defeat at third-place CSUN, hands the Mustangs the No. 7 seed for the Big West Championship.
CAL POLY VERSUS LONG BEACH STATE: The Mustangs look to snap an eight-game slide inside the Walter Pyramid with Cal Poly’s last road victory against Long Beach State a 78-71 decision on Feb. 23, 2017. Cal Poly claimed this year’s series opener at home, 78-69 (Jan. 25), but Long Beach State leads both the all-time (59-35) and Division I (40-19) series.
MUSTANG OFFENSE IN FOCUS: Having retained the Big West scoring lead and now 25th among 355 NCAA Division I programs at 81.6 points per game, Cal Poly – under first-year head coach Mike DeGeorge – is averaging 18.7 more points per game than at the same stage last season, the most significant turnaround in the nation this year. The Mustangs have scored 90-plus points in a game 10 times already this year after hitting the mark just twice during the previous four years combined. Cal Poly’s 112-point effort against UC Riverside (Feb. 22) marked the program’s highest output since a 122-90 victory against Southern (Dec. 15, 1998). Fueling the scoring surge is Cal Poly’s three-point prowess as the Mustangs rank third among 355 NCAA Division I programs with 31.9 three-pointers attempted per game and fourth with 11.1 three-pointers made per game. Cal Poly's 20 three-pointers against Cal State Fullerton (March 6) marked a new program record against Division I opposition and the highest total since the Mustangs hit 21 against then-Division III California Baptist on Dec. 3, 1996. Additionally, 12 different Mustangs have scored in double digits this season – the fourth highest total of any Division I program.
Cal Poly knocked down 20 three-pointers in Thursday's 100-61 win vs. Cal State Fullerton. The Mustangs close the regular season Saturday at Long Beach State and can clinch a spot in the Big West Championships with a win. Tip time 4 p.m. on ESPN+.#RideHighhttps://t.co/Pw9vnnHDvc
— Cal Poly Men’s Basketball (@calpolymbb) March 7, 2025
MUSTANG 1K CLUB: Graduate Owen Koonce (1,340) became the first Mustang this season to reach 1,000 collegiate points and fellow guard Jarred Hyder (1,041) surpassed the mark during Cal Poly’s Feb. 27 visit to UC Santa Barbara. Senior guard Isaac Jessup next requires 11 points to become the third Mustang this year to reach four figures.
MUSTANGS IN THE RECORD BOOK: A handful of Mustangs are scoring their way up the program’s single-season record book listings, notably:
- Graduate guard Owen Koonce, who ranks third in single-season program history with an 89.7 (87-for-97) percent free throw mark, seventh with 531 points and ninth with 192 field goals;
- Fellow graduate guard Jarred Hyder requires just eight more three-point attempts to break the program record of 251 while his 82 conversions rank fourth all-time;
- Senior guard Isaac Jessup, who also ranks fourth with 82 three-pointers and ninth with 189 attempts.
KOONCE REMAINS CAL POLY’S OFFENSIVE CATALYST: A double-digit scorer in all but five games – two of which were nine-point outings – graduate guard Owen Koonce, following a career high 32-point effort at San Jose State (Dec. 14) and 30-point night in Cal Poly’s Nov. 30 victory at Stanford, enters Saturday’s matchup at Long Beach State ranked 14th among NCAA Division I players with a 89.7 (87-for-97) percent three-point mark and, among Big West performers, sixth with 17.1 points per game and a 39.2 (57-for-148) percent three-point mark and seventh behind a 52.2 (192-for-368) percent field goal mark. The Dec. 2 Big West Player of the Week selection, Koonce also tops the Mustangs with 5.0 rebounds per outing after grabbing 10 at CSUN (Feb. 15) to secure a second double-double versus the Matadors this season. One of only two Mustangs to start all 31 games, Koonce has also scored 28 points at Cal State Bakersfield (Jan. 30), 23 twice against UC Santa Barbara (Jan. 11, Feb. 27), 21 versus Denver (Dec. 17), at CSUN (Feb. 15) and versus Cal State Fullerton (March 6) and 20 at Omaha (Dec. 21), at UC San Diego (Jan. 9) and versus Hawai’i (Feb. 6).
THE GRADUATE: Five years after establishing his initial collegiate scoring high while a freshman at Fresno State, guard Jarred Hyder has twice smashed the mark during his graduate season with a 29-point effort against Denver (Dec. 17) arriving after a 27-point performance at Arizona State (Nov. 20). Most recently, he added 25 points against UC Riverside (Feb. 22). Hyder, who matched a Cal Poly single game program record with eight three-pointers versus Denver after hitting seven at Arizona State, ranks 23rd among NCAA Division I players with 244 three-point attempts, 57th with 2.8 three-pointers per game and 62nd with 82 total threes. Still 11th among Big West performers with 13.9 points per game, Hyder has also scored 22 points at Omaha (Dec. 21) and 19 against both San Francisco (Nov. 5) and Menlo College (Nov. 10) among 22 double-digit performances. A starter in all 54 appearances as a Mustang dating to last season and third among Big West players at 32.8 minutes per game, Hyder – having distributed a career best seven assists four times this year – is ninth among conference players with 3.1 per game.
Congratulations to Mike DeGeorge, named a finalist for the @collegeinsider Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year Award recognizing this season’s most outstanding first-time Division I head coach!#RideHighhttps://t.co/z8IwCcrGHY
— Cal Poly Men’s Basketball (@calpolymbb) March 4, 2025
JESSUP EMERGES AS ONE OF NATION’S TOP THREE-POINT THREATS: Having reached double-digit scoring figures 16 times – recently knocking down a career high seven three-pointers in a 21-point effort versus Cal State Bakersfield (March 1) – senior guard Isaac Jessup enters Saturday’s contest at Long Beach State ranked 12th among NCAA Division I players with a 43.4 (82-for-189) percent three-point mark and 29th with 3.04 three-pointers per game. Having also hit six three-pointers at CSUN (Feb. 15) and five in a game five other times, Jessup’s initial 21-point outing of the season at Stanford (Nov. 30) marked a total one shy of his career scoring high while at Division II Colorado Mesa last season. Jessup also scored 20 points at California in just his second Division I appearance, 18 versus CSUN and 17 at both Arizona State (Nov. 20) and versus Grambling State (Nov. 26).
RISING FRESHMAN: A 10-point performance versus Cal State Fullerton (March 6) marked freshman guard Peter Bandelj’s 17th double-digit scoring game of the season with the Slovenia native remaining fourth in the lineup at 10.2 points per game. Averaging 14.6 points per Cal Poly’s last five games, Bandelj enjoyed a career best 24-point performance against UC Riverside (Feb. 22) while scoring 18 against UC Santa Barbara (Jan. 11). Eighth among Big West players with an 82.0 (114-for-139) percent free throw mark after a 10-for-10 performance versus Cal State Bakersfield, Bandelj leads Cal Poly in reserve scoring with 61.2 percent of 317 total points recorded in non-starting appearances.
RINIKER’S PERCENTAGE POINTS: A year after shooting 63.8 percent for Division II Colorado Mesa, graduate guard Mac Riniker remains sixth among Big West players with a 52.6 (111-for-211) percent mark. One of two Mustangs to start all 31 games alongside Owen Koonce, Riniker also ranks second in the lineup with 4.6 rebounds per game and fifth with 9.4 points per night after notching a Cal Poly-best 18 points against UC Davis (Jan. 16), 16 versus Long Beach State (Jan. 25) and 15 at Eastern Washington (Nov. 17), Saint Mary’s (Nov. 23) and Cal State Fullerton (Feb. 13) among 13 double-digit scoring outings.
FROM REDSHIRT TO ROTATION: Scheduled to redshirt during his first season on campus at the start of the year, freshman guard Cayden Ward made his Mustang debut with seven points at UC Davis (Dec. 5), recorded his first career double-digit scoring outing with 15 points at UC Irvine (Jan. 18) and produced a career best 19 points at Cal State Fullerton (Feb. 13). Most recently, Ward scored 14 points during a home victory against Cal State Bakersfield (March 1) after enjoying a 17-point night versus Big West leader UC San Diego (Feb. 20) and 16-point effort against UC Riverside (Feb. 22). He enters Saturday’s matchup at Long Beach State averaging 12.3 points per Cal Poly’s last seven games. Also ascending the rebounding chart, Ward – with a career best nine boards versus UC San Diego (Feb. 20) – is fourth in the lineup at 3.5 per game.
DEGEORGE TAKES THE MUSTANG REINS: Named Cal Poly’s sixth head coach at the Division I level on March 26, 2024, Mike DeGeorge arrived in San Luis Obispo from Division II Colorado Mesa after directing the Mavericks to 141 wins in six seasons, three Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season championships and five NCAA Tournament appearances – including Sweet 16 trips in 2022 and 2024. Bringing more than two decades of head coaching experience to Cal Poly, DeGeorge’s squads at Colorado Mesa were known for their offensive prowess. During the 2023-24 season, Colorado Mesa led Division II in effective field goal percentage (.596), finished third in three-pointers per game (11.4) and 15th in points per game (11.4). Both of DeGeorge’s assistant coaches from Colorado Mesa – Kyle Bossier and BJ Andrews – joined Cal Poly in the offseason, as well as four transfers from Colorado Mesa.
ETC.: Cal Poly is in its 31st Division I season and 81st as a four-year program … Cal Poly’s Nov. 5 matchup at San Francisco marked the earliest opening date to a season in program history … Cal Poly’s 93.3 (14-for-15) percent free throw mark at San Francisco (Nov. 5) marked the fourth highest single game figure in program history … since transitioning to the Division I level prior to the 1994-95 season, Cal Poly is 49-1 against non-Division I programs following a 99-66 home victory against Division II Menlo College (Nov. 10) … Cal Poly’s 99-66 home win against Menlo College (Nov. 10) marked head coach Mike DeGeorge’s first victory in charge of Cal Poly while the program’s 75-71 win versus Seattle (Nov. 14) was the first against a Division I opponent … Jarred Hyder’s seven three-pointers at Arizona State (Nov. 20) were one shy of the program single game record recorded three previous times and most recently by Dawin Whiten (Feb. 10, 2007) … Cal Poly’s Nov. 26 home victory against Grambling State marked the program’s first all-time matchup with the Tigers … Cal Poly’s Dec. 5 Big West opener at UC Davis marked the earliest conference start date in program history … Jarred Hyder’s eight three-pointers against Denver (Dec. 17) tied a single-game program record previously accomplished by three Mustangs and most recently by guard Dawin Whiten against UC Irvine (Feb. 10, 2007) … Cal Poly’s 95-94 overtime home win against Denver marked the program’s first all-time victory against the Pioneers … Cal Poly’s Jan. 18 setback at UC Irvine marked the program’s 900th game at the Division I level … Cal Poly 112-100 overtime home victory against UC Riverside (Feb. 22) marked the program’s highest scoring output since a 122-90 home win versus Southern (Dec. 15, 1998) … Cal Poly’s 20-for-21 performance and 95.2 percent figure from the free throw line against Cal State Bakersfield (March 1) was the third highest single game mark in program history … Cal Poly's 20 three-pointers against Cal State Fullerton (March 6) marked a new program record against Division I opposition and the highest total since the Mustangs hit 21 against then-Division III California Baptist on Dec. 3, 1996.
