1-1,0-0Big West
No. 4/5 Arizona
1-1,0-0Big 12
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cal Poly | 41 | 43 | 84 |
| Arizona | 59 | 45 | 104 |
11/5/2026 10:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
TUCSON, Ariz. – Junior Hamad Mousa scored a game high 30 points and sophomore Jason Scott enjoyed a career best 17, but the Cal Poly men’s basketball program opened a four-game road trip Thursday evening with a 104-84 setback at No. 4/5 Arizona.
Sophomore Jess Esso Essis added 10 points for Cal Poly (1-1), which sank 16 three-pointers against its highest ranked opponent in program history. Arizona (1-1), however, shot 54.5 (36-for-66) percent from the floor – including a 62.5 percent mark in the first half – and led for all but 72 seconds.
Mousa supplied 10 early points Thursday and Cal Poly cut an opening deficit to 16-15 with 13 minutes remaining in the first half following an Esso Essis three-pointer.
However, the Wildcats – who converted 12 of their first 17 attempts from the floor – fended off the Mustangs with a 9-0 run to take their first double-digit lead of the evening.
Mousa, who sank five of his first six shots, drained the third of three first-half three-pointers to shorten Cal Poly’s deficit to 28-20 with nine-and-a-half minutes to play. Arizona though scored 13 unanswered in the next two-and-a-half minutes to pull away and eventually lead at the break, 59-41.
Despite shooting 50.0 (13-for-26) percent during the first half, Cal Poly committed 14 turnovers.
Into the second half, Cal Poly closed within 17 points of Arizona’s lead just once.
Cal Poly Noteworthy (at No. 4/5 Arizona)
- Up Next: Cal Poly’s four-game road trip continues Wednesday, Nov. 11 with the Mustangs visiting Grand Canyon. Tip time is 6 p.m. PT.
- Thursday’s matchup featured the highest ranked opponent in Cal Poly’s history and highest since a 73-62, season-opening loss at then-No. 5 Arizona on Nov. 8, 2013.
- Mousa’s 30-point performance marked his 33rd double-digit scoring performance in 34 career games for Cal Poly. He also surpassed 30-plus points for the fifth time as a Mustang.
- The Big West scoring champion a year ago, Mousa once again took over the top spot now averaging 24.0 points per game.
- After scoring 19 combined points in eight appearances last season, sophomore guard Jason Scott nearly doubled his career total against Arizona.
- Thursday’s televised game was Cal Poly’s first on truTV since a 2014 NCAA Tournament First Four victory against Texas Southern. The Mustangs also made their streaming debut on HBO Max.
Images courtesy of Catherine Regan
