Hawai'i
Mustangs Take Momentum to Big West Co-Leader Hawai’i Thursday
2/17/2026 10:53:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Following home victories against first-place UC Irvine (Feb. 12) and second-place UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 14), the Cal Poly men’s basketball program visits Big West co-leader Hawai’i on Thursday, Feb. 19. Tip time is 9 p.m. PT (7 p.m. HT) for Cal Poly (11-16, 7-8), which faces its third top-three opponent in the Big West standings in a three-game span. Despite picking off two of the conference’s top three programs, Cal Poly remained eighth in the Big West standings. The Mustangs, however, moved two-and-a-half games clear of ninth place Long Beach State (8-18, 4-10) with the top eight programs qualifying for the March 11-14 Big West Championship. Featuring the nation’s 32nd-ranked scorer in sophomore guard Hamad Mousa (20.0), Cal Poly ranks third among conference programs at 81.3 points per game having scored 90-plus points seven times this season. Hawai’i (18-6, 10-4), which saw a three-game winning streak snapped Saturday at CSUN (84-60), ranks 35th nationally conceding just 67.8 points per game. The Rainbow Warriors enter the week sharing first place alongside UC Irvine with the pair just a half game ahead of UC Santa Barbara.
CAL POLY VERSUS HAWAI’I: The Rainbow Warriors have won 10 of the last 11 matchups with Cal Poly, including prevailing in this year’s season series opener in San Luis Obispo, 86-66 (Jan. 15). Cal Poly seeks its first victory at Hawai’i since a 61-57 overtime victory on Jan. 7, 2015. Hawai’i leads the all-time series, 21-9.
THE STAN SHERIFF CONNECTION: With Cal Poly making its 15th all-time visit to Hawai’i, Cal Poly shares an historic link with the Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center’s namesake. An All-America selection in football at Cal Poly, Sheriff (1950-54) was a charter member of the Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame. An NFL standout with the Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns, Sheriff was the head coach at Northern Iowa for 23 years before becoming Hawai’i’s Director of Athletics in 1983.
Following home wins against UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly visits Big West co-leader Hawai'i on Thursday, Feb. 19 at 9 p.m. PT!#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/InaQwuF2hJ
— Cal Poly Men’s Basketball (@calpolymbb) February 16, 2026
LONG-RANGE GAME: Cal Poly has once more emerged as one of the nation’s top three-point shooting threats with the Mustangs ranked seventh among 361 NCAA Division I programs with 296 total three-pointers and 32.4 attempts per game and 11th with 11.0 three-pointers made per game. The Mustangs have knocked down multiple three-pointers in 17 of 27 matchups, topping out with 18 – three shy of the program single game record – during a 94-91 victory at Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 4) and 17 against CSUN (Feb. 5). Individually, guard Hamad Mousa ranks 71st nationally with 70 total three-pointers and 76th with a 37.6 (70-for-186) percent three-point mark.
GAME ON THE LINE: Shooting 86.7 (98-for-113) percent from the free throw line during the last six games – including a program record 20-for-20 performance at Cal State Bakersfield (Jan. 29) – Cal Poly now ranks 20th nationally with a 77.5 percent mark this season (the program single season record is 78.3). Individually, Hamad Mousa and Peter Bandelj share third place among Big West players with an 87.0 percent free throw mark.
MOUSA’S MOMENT: A double-digit scorer in 26 of 27 appearances, sophomore guard Hamad Mousa – who finished with 26 total points in 20 games at Dayton last season – continues to lead the Big West and ranks 32nd among NCAA Division I players at 20.0 points per game. He’s also 18th nationally with 147 total free throws and 71st with 70 total three-pointers. Mousa’s latest highlight scoring endeavor was a 33-point night against CSUN (Feb. 5). His career best performance was a 34-point effort at CSUN (Jan. 8) while also recording 33 against Idaho (Dec. 21) and 31 versus UC Riverside (Dec. 6). Mousa’s 521 total points this year rank as the 10th highest total in program single season. With 79 more points, he’ll record just the second 600-point season in program history. One of just two players from Qatar in Division I this season, Mousa also ranks third among Big West players with an 87.0 (147-for-169) percent free throw mark and eighth with 6.0 rebounds per game.
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— Cal Poly Men’s Basketball (@calpolymbb) February 17, 2026
Mott was packed this weekend. Thank you for your energy??#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/fjF5i5IROl
WARD’S SUPERIOR SOPHOMORE EFFORT: Behind 20 double-digit scoring games, sophomore guard Cayden Ward enters Thursday’s matchup at Hawai’i third in the lineup and 12th among Big West players at 13.9 points per game. Earning Big West Player of the Week praise following a career high 28-point effort at Utah (Nov. 20), Ward – who averaged 7.4 points per game as a freshman – also owns a 25-point night against Montana State (Dec. 16). His most recent standout performance was 15-point, 10-rebound double-double against first place UC Irvine (Feb. 12). On the boards, Ward is second in Cal Poly’s lineup at 5.9 rebounds per game.
BANDELJ UPS THE SCORING PACE: Cal Poly’s leading returning scorer from last season, sophomore guard Peter Bandelj enters Thursday’s game versus UC Irvine third in the lineup at 13.8 points per game. Highlighted by a career high 37-point performance that included a program record nine three-pointers at Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 4), Bandelj is a double-digit scorer in all but seven appearances. Fifth among Big West players with an 86.0 (86-for-100) percent free throw mark, Bandelj – through 57 collegiate appearances – is averaging 11.8 career points per game.
UNITED NATIONS: Cal Poly’s 2025-26 roster features players from nine different countries – a figure eclipsed by only UT Martin (13). Cal Poly, however, is the only Division I program this year with a roster that canvasses all six habitable continents/regions.
CLOSED PORTAL DOORS: Alongside Duke, Tennessee, American and Boston University, Cal Poly was just one of just five Division I programs not to lose a player to the transfer portal during the offseason.
SANDERS DEBUT MAKES NBA MUSTANGS TWO: Cal Poly saw a second Mustang alum make his NBA debut on Oct. 22 when guard Kobe Sanders (2020-24) – drafted 50th overall by the New York Knicks in June before being traded to the Clippers – appeared for Los Angeles. Cal Poly’s first and only NBA Draft selection since 1978, Sanders joined guard David Nwaba (2013-16) – who appeared for the Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago, Cleveland, Brooklyn and Houston between 2017 and 2022 – as the only former Mustangs to play in the NBA.
ETC.: The Mustangs are in their 32nd Division I season and 82nd as a four-year program … Cal Poly’s Nov. 3 season opener at USC marked the earliest start date in program history … Cal Poly’s 92-85 victory at Utah (Nov. 20) marked the program’s first and only win against a current Big 12 program since defeating Arizona State on Dec. 2, 1949 … Cal Poly’s Nov. 25 matchup with Southeast Missouri marked the first all-time matchup between the two programs … the Mustangs improved to 51-1 against non-Division I opposition with an 87-81 home victory against Division III Redlands on Nov. 29 (Cal Poly transitioned to the Division I level prior to the 1994-95 season) … Peter Bandelj’s nine three-pointers at Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 4) set a new program record, surpassing the previous mark of eight by four different Mustangs and last accomplished by graduate guard Jarred Hyder (Dec. 17, 2024) … Cal Poly’s 95.5 (21-for-22) percent free throw performance at UCLA (21-for-22) marked the fourth highest single game figure in program history and the highest total with one miss … a 20-for-20 free throw effort at Cal State Bakersfield (Jan. 29) established a new program record for most conversions without a miss, besting a 17-for-17 performance at UC Irvine on March 3, 2022.
