The Cal State Northridge men’s basketball team had to wait a little longer for its first postseason win in 10 years, but the seventh-seeded Matadors finally checked off that box with an 87-84 overtime victory over sixth-seeded UC Santa Barbara in a Big West Tournament first-round game late Wednesday night in Henderson, Nevada.
“This is just the tip of the sword,” first-year CSUN coach Andy Newman said.
The Matadors (19-14) move on to face third-seeded Hawaii (19-13) in a quarterfinal on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Northridge held the Gauchos (16-15) without a field goal during overtime but hurt itself by missing four consecutive free throws and then fouling Ben Shtolzberg on a 3-point attempt with six seconds left.
After Shtolzberg made all three free throws to pull UCSB within a point, CSUN’s DeccSean Allen-Eikens made two free throws with 4.3 seconds left for an 87-84 lead and Shtolzberg missed a long 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
“I missed two free throws down the stretch. I kept my head up. My teammate picked me up,” Northridge forward Keonte Jones said. “Stupid foul at the end on a 3-pointer, but my teammates were always there, so that’s what it’s about, just picking each other up no matter what, down 10, down 15, just keep pushing it.”
Newman said he considered fouling before the final 3-point heave, but he thought the Matadors had a better chance by letting the Gauchos shoot a desperation 3-pointer.
“We felt like, ‘Hey, if they shoot a runner from 45 (feet) and it goes in, then so be it,’” he said.
Jones had 24 points and nine rebounds and Allen-Eikens scored 23 points for the Matadors, who were picked to finish 10th in the Big West preseason coaches’ poll after going 7-25 last season.
Dionte Bostick added 18 points and Gianni Hunt scored 11 before fouling out with just under 14 minutes left.
Ajay Mitchell, the Big West Player of the Year last season, had 36 points, nine rebounds and five assists, but he rolled his ankle…
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