13-17,9-9Big West
UC San Diego
21-9,11-7Big West
Cal Poly Outdistanced Saturday at UC San Diego
2/28/2026 9:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LA JOLLA – Guard Hamad Mousa scored a game high 19 points Saturday evening, but the Cal Poly men’s basketball program was unable to recover from a first-half, double-digit deficit at UC San Diego en route to an 80-64 setback inside LionTree Arena.
Guard Cayden Ward secured his third career double-double with 12 points and a game best 10 rebounds for Cal Poly (13-17, 9-9), which saw a four-game winning streak snapped after being held to a 37.9 (22-for-58) percent shooting mark.
Mousa also grabbed nine rebounds for Cal Poly, which forced UC San Diego into just six turnovers. The Tritons, in turn, transformed 15 Cal Poly turnovers into 21 points.
Keyed by an early pair of three-pointers from both guards Peter Bandelj and Guzman Vasilic, Cal Poly took a 14-9 lead after four minutes.
The Mustangs, however, were kept scoreless for an ensuing eight-minute stretch, slipping to a 22-14 deficit eight minutes before the break. Kept to a 32.1 (9-for-28) percent first-half shooting mark and without a free throw attempt, the Mustangs trailed heading into the locker room, 42-24.
Bandelj opened Cal Poly’s second half with a three-pointer and Mousa followed with a three-point play, but the Mustangs cut their second half disadvantage to single digits just twice down the stretch.
Cal Poly Noteworthy (at UC San Diego)
- Up Next: Cal Poly visits Big West co-leader UC Irvine in its final regular season road matchup on Thursday, March 5. Tip time from the Bren Events Center is 7 p.m.
- Having already clinched a spot in the March 11-14 Big West Championship, Cal Poly remained in eighth place in the conference standings with Saturday’s loss and one game behind UC Davis (17-12, 10-8) and Cal State Fullerton (15-15, 10-8).
- With 19 points Saturday, Hamad Mousa brought his season total to 593 to match Owen Koonce’s 2024-25 haul for the second highest mark in program single season history. He needs just seven points Thursday at UC Irvine to join Stuart Thomas (658, 1990-91) as the only Mustang with 600-plus points in a solitary season.
- Mousa also ranks third in single season history with 170 free throws and eighth with an 87.6 percent free throw mark.
- With an 8-for-8 free throw performance Saturday, Cal Poly improved its season mark to a program record 78.5 percent, moving ahead of the previous mark of 78.3 set by the 1974-75 Mustangs.
