SAME FEDORA-NEW CROWN?

[PointGuard]

Portland Pilots (0-3) @ Cal Poly Mustangs (2-1)

Keri Bridges, Cal Poly cheerleader

As a freshman last year I was on the spirit squad here at Cal Poly. This year I got selected to be a cheerleader. I’m having a blast. I did gymnastics from the time I was 8 so I do most of the harder tumbling and flips for the cheer/stunt group. I also like our aerials. I love basketball games where we cheerleaders get to do much more than any other sport here.

The Mustangs quickly jumped out to a big lead and never looked back. Since they were shooting so well and racing to a lot of breakaway layups, the crowd was going wild, and it made our job easy. By the end of the first half, Cal Poly was ahead 41-20. The lead grew to 47 points in the 2nd half, our crowd was really celebrating, and the Mustangs stomped the Pilots by a final score of 86-51.

Scoring in double figures: C Don Seals-17, PG Aki Mosley-12, PF Derrick LaLane-12, SF Donald Brown-11, and SG Ryan Jackson-10. Coach Aura played his subs a lot and the bench scored 37 points.

Fun game for we cheerleaders since the crowd was going crazy. It makes it so much better when the crowd gets into it and we can whip up the level of energy and excitement even higher.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (3-1) @ Niagara Purple Eagles (2-2)

PG Bryan Taylor

This is the first of 6 straight road games for our team. This game and our next 2 all are in the Northeast. It’s exciting for me since my family didn’t travel much. I would like to be starting but realize that the most I can expect as a freshman is to fill in for Sparks (PG Aki Mosley) and also get a little time at SG when T-Man (SG Terrell Alexander) is dragging. I think the coaches are happy with what I’ve done since I’ve hit 60% of my FG’s, 57% of my 3’s, and 88% of my FT’s and am averaging 5.8 ppg and 1.5 apg while averaging just 11.0 mpg of floor time thus far.

The Purple Eagles two losses were on the road to Southern California and #17 ranked UCONN. Niagara’s C Ed Tyler tops their scoring and rebounding with 14.8 ppg and 6.3 rpg. But their two guards, PG Roland Jones and SG Manny Brown are averaging 12.0 and 12.3 ppg respectively. Coach Fed wants us guards to check PG Rashad Jones closely since he’s hitting 49% of his FG’s and 47% of his 3’s.

Both teams had trouble controlling the ball early, but we at least were shooting pretty well and led 12-8 at the first media timeout. I got into the game when 11 minutes remaining in the half and us ahead 15-8. Although I missed my 3-point attempt, I later grabbed a rebound, got an assist and stole a pass all in less than a minute and we were on top 19-10. I came back into the game late in the half, stole a pass and made a layup on the resultant fast break to put us ahead 25-14. I got another steal, made an assist, and grabbed another rebound as we moved out to a 36-17 halftime lead. We held Niagara’s shooting to 22% on FG’s, 11% on 3’s, and out-rebounded them 20-13.

Niagara scored the first 5 points of the 2nd half, but we came back to score the next 11 to go up by 25 points. Coach Fed put me back in the game with 14 minutes remaining. We were ahead 49-29. Our offense went cold but I got us going again with a 3 that put us back ahead by 18. With 7-1/2 minutes remaining, I knocked down another 3 that put us on top 59-38. I left the game with 5:38 remaining and the score 62-40. I was surprised to get back into the game with a minute to go and hit a short jumper. We came away with a 74-54 victory.

C Curtis Pearson scored 19 points, PF/C Don Seals had 14 points and 8 boards, and I scored 10 (plus had 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals).

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (4-1) @ Hartford Hawks (2-3)

San Luis Obispo Tribune

MUSTANGS IN NAIL-BITER

Last night the Cal Poly basketball team took on the Hartford Hawks in Connecticut. Following two very early lead changes, the Mustangs offense went ice-cold and the Hawks spurted ahead to take a 16 point lead with 13 minutes left in the first half. Hartford held onto their big lead until the Mustangs defense clamped down in the final 5 minutes of the half. That allowed the Mustangs to cut the lead at halftime to 37-32.

The Mustangs stingy defense held firm at the beginning of the 2nd half. With 15 minutes left in the game, they tied the score at 39-39. From thereon the lead switched back and forth between the two teams. On their final possession in regulation, Cal Poly’s Terrell Alexander put up an off-balance shot that somehow bounced through the net to tie the game at 72-72 and send the game to overtime.

Defense ruled in OT. The Mustangs scored the first 4 points of the OT but then had to hang on. As time was winding down, the Hawks made the first foul shot to draw within a single point at 76-75. When the 2nd shot rimmed out, Cal Poly’s Donald Brown pulled down the rebound and was intentionally fouled immediately. He went to the line with 16 seconds remaining and hit both shots to give Cal Poly a 3 point cushion. Following a timeout, the Hawks worked the ball around in the forecourt attempting to get free for a 3 point attempt. Finally PG Jim Ashman took a pass and quickly stepped back to the 3-point line. He put up a shot that cleanly fell through the hoop with 1 second on the clock. But was it another tie and a 2nd OT? The referees took a lengthy look at the replay before ruling that Ashman went up with the shot with his toe on the 3 point line making the shot worth just 2 points and giving the Mustangs a heart-stopping 78-77 win. Hartford’s hometown crowd lustily reigned boos down upon the referees.

The victory raised Cal Poly’s record to 5-1. Topping the scoring for Cal Poly was C Curtis Pearson with 16 points. PF Derrick LaLane and SF Donald Brown both scored 13 points. PF/C Don Seals and SG Terrell Alexander added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Brown also had 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks.

[PointGuard]

Janeka Aura

After his great play in the Hoyas first two games Malik came down with some sort of a bug. He still started but the effects of limited his time on the court and his level of play definitely suffered. In Georgetown’s past 4 games he’s only averaged 8.5 ppg but he’s done a pretty good job on the boards and helping to distribute the ball on offense. I’ve been concerned about his health, but he keeps telling me he’s getting better.

The Hoyas lost 3 of those 4 games. But it’s quite obvious that the overall talent level on the team has deteriorated over the past couple years. Malik says there no longer are any easy games or sure wins and that every game now is a veritable challenge for the Hoyas.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (5-1) @ Maine Black Bears (5-1)

Justin Traore, 2nd Assistant Coach (Player development/Practice)

Maine has played well this year. Their defense has been particularly effective. On offense, SG Marcus Walker is averaging 14.8 ppg and hitting a high percentage of his shots from all over the court. For us, SF Donald Brown, who came to us this season as a JC transfer, had his best game of the season earlier this week, playing extremely well on both ends of the court. So we hope he comes up big again to give us the boost we’re likely to need against the Black Bears.

We got off to a good start, hitting our first 3 shots to go up 7-0. But we then went scoreless for 6 minutes. With 7 minutes left in the half, we trailed 31-12. The half ended with Maine in charge 40-24. We hit just 27% of our FG’s and 13% of our 3’s in the half.

The 2nd half began as a replay. We scored the first 8 points, but then went scoreless for 3 minutes. This time though, we were limiting Maine’s scoring and with 13 minutes to go we trailed by just 6 points at 44-38. Then our shooting froze up again and we soon found ourselves with a 13 point deficit. We came back with a frenzied run in the final few minutes to cut the lead to 64-61 with a minute to play. Maine hit a free throw to increase their lead to 4 with 40 seconds left. PF Richard Lawson hit a 3 with 15 seconds to go, and we trailed by a single point. We had to foul. They made both shots and we didn’t have time to get off a prayer to tie. We lost 67-64. Our comeback attempt just came a little too late.

PG Aki Mosley scored 11 and had 4 rebounds and 4 assists. PF Richard Lawson scored 9 points in his 4 minutes on the court...nice job at coming in off the bench.

[PointGuard]

Coach Fred Aura

Yesterday I found out something surprising that I previously had no knowledge of about one of my players. I got word that Bryan Taylor, my freshman PG, was doing something on the side…other than going to classes and playing basketball, I mean. The person who let me know didn’t have much in the way of details so when I got a chance today, I sat down with Bryan and asked him point blank.

He was surprised that I was inquiring and said it was just something he wanted to do and that he hadn’t seen any reason to let anyone know about it. But he said since I had asked, he’d give me the whole story.

When he was 12 and in the 7th grade, he was living with his parents in San Jose and noticed that many of the homes in his neighborhood had a few fruit trees and many were loaded with fruit. He said he ’d heard a lot about poor people and homeless people in the area who often were hungry. Each time he’d go by those trees with fruit that was not being picked and would be going to waste, he felt that was just not right. And that led him to realizing that maybe there was a way he could help others.

So Bryan went to those neighbors and asked if they had extra fruit…and if they did, would they be willing to part with some of it if he would pick it and get it to people who couldn’t afford to buy fruit. It turned out that most of the neighbors said yes. So he got his parents to drive him around to places in San Jose that helped out those in need to find out which ones would be able to use that fruit. He then began picking fruit and delivering it each week to a few of the organizations. It was small scale since he was limited to getting the fruit from his immediate neighborhood and his parents didn’t have more time than to drive him to deliver the fruit each week. But when he got his driver’s license in high school, he used his newfound mobility to expand what he was doing and actually got a few of his friends to help a little. Even that was pretty low key, but the organizations and those they were helping feed were appreciative.

He had no plans of continuing it when he came to college, but once he got his feet on the ground in his classes (and before basketball practices began in October), he made some contacts in San Luis Obispo and began the same thing here locally. This time it was mainly fruit, but also some vegetables. Even though basketball practice limited his time much more, he still was his efforts to supply a couple local organizations with homegrown fruit and veggies.

Again, Bryan told me it was no big deal…just something he made some time for and did as he could. He then asked if I was concerned that it would take his focus off basketball or eat into the time he spends with the team. I told him hell no. In fact I thought it was highly commendable and something he definitely should continue. In fact, Janeka and I have an apple and an orange tree in my back yard, and he could certainly add us to his list of providers if he’d like.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (5-2) @ Utah Valley Wolverines (3-5)

Cal Poly Mustangs Sports Message Board

MUSTANGS STOMP UTAH VALLEY

Last night the Mustangs continued their long road journey by romping over the Utah Valley Wolverines 76-55. Utah Valley led early but midway through the first half, Cal Poly overtook the Wolverines and ran away from them the rest of the game.

The Mustangs “D” delivered the devastating blow to Utah Valley, holding the Wolverines’ shooting to just 33% from the field. Cal Poly also totally dominated the boards, 41-29.

SG Terrell Alexander had a huge game, scoring 15 points, hauling down 11 rebounds, dishing out 5 assists, and getting 3 steals and 2 blocks. PG Aki Mosley also scored 15, while C Curtis Pearson and reserve PG Bryan Taylor both scored 11 points with Pearson also picking off 9 boards.

Cal Poly next travels to Seattle to take on the Seattle Redhawks next Wednesday and finish their pre-conference schedule.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (6-2) @ Seattle Redhawks (3-6)

Rashon Richardson, 3rd Assistant Coach (scouting)

Seattle likes to slow things down. Our aim is to disrupt this and keep the game flowing. SG Drew Cheeks (12.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.1 apg) is their best player, but he sustained an ankle injury that may limit his playing time and effectiveness. Freshman PF Dan Martin has played above expectations. I’m hoping Aki Mosley can do some damage going up against a less-talented opponent in the Redhawks’ PG L.B. Orr. I also think SF Donald Brown can outplay Seattle’s SF Brandon Burks. Overall I think we’re the stronger team, but Seattle’s home court advantage could make things difficult for us.

Seattle got off to a 7-2 start. But we got back into the game quickly with Don Seals doing damage down low. The two teams duked it out the rest of the way with 15 lead changes. We came out of the half with a 39-36 lead. Don Seals and Derrick LaLane combined to score 20 points and grab 9 rebounds. Coach Aura stressed defense in the locker room since we had let the Redhawks hit 52% of their FGA’s.

We opened the 2nd half strongly and led by 9 with 14 minutes to go. But Seattle kept cutting into our lead and hanging within striking distance. The Redhawks finally tied the game at 67-67 with 3 minutes to go. Don Seals continued to bail us out of trouble, but Seattle hit a jumper with 35 seconds remaining and our lead was just a single point at 71-70. The Redhawks fouled Seals intentionally with 28 seconds to go. He went to the line for a one and one, making the first but missing the second. Seattle was called for travelling and had to foul Aki Mosley with 16 seconds on the clock. Aki sunk both ends of the 1-and-1 and we led by 4. The Redhawks took a quick shot which was off the target and we scored 2 more points to come away with an exciting 76-70 victory.

PF/C Don Seals scored 22 points and pulled down 5 rebounds. PG Aki Mosley clicked for 17 points plus had 7 rebounds. PF Derrick LaLane had 10 points and 7 boards.

[PointGuard]

Zahara Carter, Assistant (Cal Poly Sports Administration)

We’re transitioning into conference play after a very successful pre-conference schedule during which we won 7 and lost 2. We were 2-1 at home and 5-1 away. Our NET Ranking is 24th best in the country (probably because we won 5 of 6 on the road), but of course we’re unranked (the Big West gets no respect). Our team has averaged 77.7 ppg (22nd best in Division 1) while giving up just 65.1 ppg (75th best). We’re averaging 35.0 rpg (50th best). The team has hit 48.3% of their FG’s (34th best), 39.9% of their 3’s (21st best), and 79.7% of their FT’s (12th best).

Our leading scorers are: Don Seals (15.1 ppg), Aki Mosley (12.1 ppg), Derrick LaLane (9.1 ppg), Terrell Alexander (8.6 ppg), Curtis Pearson (8.2 ppg), Bryan Taylor (6.3 ppg), Donald Brown (6.1 ppg), Richard Lawson (5.9 ppg), Ryan Jackson (4.4 ppg), and Roderick Chatman (3.7 ppg).

Tops for rebounding: Don Seals (6.0 rpg), Curtis Pearson (5.6 rpg), Donald Brown (4.8 rpg), Derrick LaLane (4.4 rpg), Terrell Alexander (4.3 rpg), Aki Mosley (3.1 rpg) and Richard Lawson (2.3 rpg).

Assist leaders are: Aki Mosley (3.8 apg), Terrell Alexander (2.8 apg), Donald Brown (2.4 apg), Curtis Pearson (1.9 apg), Bryan Taylor (1.7 apg), and Don Seals (1.6 apg).

Tops in Steals: Terrell Alexander (1.8 spg) and Donald Brown (1.2 spg).

Top Shot Blockers: Don Seals (0.8 bpg) and Curtis Pearson (0.8 bpg).

Top FG shooters: Bryan Taylor (64%), Derrick LaLane (53%), Richard Lawson (51%), Don Seals (51%), Terrell Alexander (48%), Ryan Jackson (47%), Curtis Pearson (46%), Aki Mosley (44%), and Donald Brown (42%).

Top 3-point shooters: Bryan Taylor (57%), Terrell Alexander (46%), Richard Lawson (44%), Don Seals (42%), Derrick LaLane (41%), Aki Mosley (34%), and Curtis Pearson (31%).

Other Big West teams with winning records: UC Irvine and UC San Diego are both 7-2, UC Riverside and UC Davis are both 6-3, and UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Bakersfield are both 5-4. As a whole the entire Big West went 56-44 in pre-conference play. So it looks like we have some tough opposition coming up within the conference.

[PointGuard]

Fred Aura

My sons are doing pretty well this season. Malik’s come back after his recent downturn due to illness. In Georgetown’s final 3 pre-conference games, he averaged a little over 17 ppg and 7 rpg. He’s averaging 15.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg and 2.3 apg thus far this season. I’m a big concerned about his shooting. He’s taking some shots that he shouldn’t be and his shooting percentage has suffered because of that. He doesn’t have a lot of offensive support from his teammates, so I think he’s trying to compensate and making some bad decisions as he tries to carry the team. As his team’s top offensive threat, opponents are going to key on him so open shots are going to be difficult to get. Forcing up shots isn’t going to get the job done. The Hoyas are 2-7 going into Big East play…and some of those losses have come against low quality competition. So I think he needs to realize that losses will likely outnumber wins this season and just play smart basketball and let the chips fall where they may.

Omari continues to come into games off the bench for the Indiana Pacers. He’s getting about 10 minutes playing time in most games. But he’s had double that playing time in 3 games this year, and in two of those he’s scored in double figures (12 and 15 points). Overall he’s averaging 6.4 ppg and 2.8 rpg. We got to see him when the Pacers played the Clippers in LA, so that was great.