SAME FEDORA-NEW CROWN?

[PointGuard]

Cal State Northridge Matadors (5-12, 4-4) @ Cal Poly Mustangs (11-7, 8-1)

Rob Benchley, Athletic Director

Our team has been playing extremely well, but the injury to Don Seals means our other big men need to step up. Don has averaged 15.2 ppg and 4.8 rpg and hit 58% of his FG’s and an amazing 44% of his 3’s. And in his last 4 games he’s scored over 20 points in two games and has averaged 19 ppg. Victor Collier is starting at C tonight, but Don Seals says he can play, so we’ll see if Coach Aura chooses to put him into the game.

We came out on fire. After 7 minutes of play we were ahead 24-7, having hit 9 of our first 11 shots, including 4 of 6 from beyond the arc. With 10 minutes left in the half we were ahead by 20 points. The half was an offensive exhibit. We hit 72% of our shots to lead 57-34. Aki Mosley led our scoring with 13 points.

The 2nd half was pretty sloppily played, but Coach Aura was working in his entire bench. We held onto a big lead all the way, though, and won with ease, 90-67.

Our top producers were: PG Aki Mosley—17 points and 5 assists; C Victor Collier—15 points and 5 assists; SG Terrell Alexander--14 points; PF Dominick LaLane--10 points and 8 rebounds; SG/PG Brian Taylor—10 points. Good to see Victor (Collier) have a strong game.

Although Don Seals suited up, Coach Aura held him out of the game.

UC Davis lost again so now the Aggies are 1-1/2 games behind us in the standings. After a horrible start this season, UC Santa Barbara has won their last 5 games and now stands alone in 3rd place, 2-1/2 games behind.

[PointGuard]

Janeka Aura

Our sons, Omari and Malik, are making progress in their NBA careers. Omari is getting more minutes for the Indiana Pacers and is averaging 6.2 ppg and 4.1 rpg. Malik, in his rookie year with the Denver Nuggets, started slowly, but has scored in double figures in 2 of the Nuggets last 5 games and is now averaging 5.5 ppg.

Devany, our daughter, is a freshman in high school. She’s doing well on the high school basketball team, but more importantly is doing very well academically. She recently received a science award. She’s interested in becoming a veterinarian and is volunteering at a pet clinic.

Al Miller, my dad, is living with us. He’s gotten involved in activities at our city’s senior center and is taking some online zoom classes. He also attends all the Cal Poly home basketball games.

And me? I’m working at an oncology center. I help cancer patients handle not only their treatments, but also the psychological issues that are a result of the disease. It’s interesting and fulfilling for me...and hopefully I'm making a positive impact on my patients' lives.

[PointGuard]

Bryan King, 1st Assistant Coach (recruiting)

SAT scores came out. The recruits who have committed to us came through with SAT scores well above our required minimum score. We had five recruits to whom we had made offers but who’ve not yet committed to us or anyone else. Two of those had SAT scores which didn’t meet our requirements, so we rescinded our offers and will hold onto them until this spring. We have a lot of recruits we’re watching and communicating with and we’ll determine in March or April which of those to offer the 2 scholarships we now have in our pocket.

[PointGuard]

UC Davis Aggies (10-8, 7-2) @ Cal Poly Mustangs (12-7, 9-1)

Al Miller, father-in-law of Coach Fred Aura

Janeka and Fred have been so good to me, having me come to live with them after my wife passed away. To be honest, her loss is still very hard on me. But with Janeka’s and Fred’s help and encouragement, I’ve been doing more out of the house. The programs and classes at the San Luis Obispo Senior Center are a lot of fun and the people there are warm and welcoming. I get to Devany’s high school basketball games…she’s pretty darned good. And coming to Cal Poly basketball games has been good for me also.

Tonight’s game is a big one since the Mustangs are playing the 2nd place team in the conference standings. Fred was talking with me about the Aggies’ Corey Heideman, their freshman C, who’s averaging 20.3 ppg and 8.6 rpg. The guy scored 37 points in one of their games this season. I hope Fred’s figured out a way to shut him down.

Heidemann got inside and scored on the Aggies’ first possession, but then Don Seals blocked his next shot and a double team forced him to take an off balance shot that missed badly. Aki Mosley picked up his 2nd foul with 14:28 to play in the first half. But the Mustangs had just gone on a 10-0 run to put them ahead 15-7. Cal Poly’s defense was working well against UC Davis. The mix of man-to-man and 2-3 zone is pretty much what Fred usually does, but the Aggies had a tough time handling the frequent interspersing of the 2 defenses. Fred’s also used his bench heavily, as usual. In contrast the Aggies head coach kept his starters on the court. It became obvious that they were tiring as compared to the Mustangs players who were fresh. Cal Poly rolled to a 46-36 halftime lead. Heidemann can score alright…he scored 9 points in the half, but the Mustangs totally neutralized him otherwise…no rebounds, assists, blocks, steals. Cal Poly hit over 50% of their shots while UC Davis connected on about 35% of theirs.

Even though the Mustangs had a tougher time putting the ball in the hoop in the 2nd half and the refs were sending UC Davis to the line a lot more, Cal Poly hung onto an 8-12 point lead for the first 16 minutes of the 2nd half because their defense continued to shut down the Aggies. Then the Aggies totally folded in the final 4 minutes and Cal Poly stretched their lead to finish with a lopsided 81-63 win. The Mustangs bench scored 37 points while the Aggies bench accounted for just 13 points. The victory gave Cal Poly a 2-1/2 game lead over 2nd place UC Davis. That should make Fred happy. After a poor start this season, UC Santa Barbara won their 5th straight game and is now tied with UC San Diego for 3rd place, 3 games behind the Mustangs. Cal Poly takes on the Gauchos at Santa Barbara two nights from now.

PG Aki Mosley topped the scoring for Cal Poly with 15 points while PF Curtis Pearson also scored in double figures with 10 points. Heidemann scored 20 points for the Aggies, but the rest of the team was ineffective.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (13-7, 10-1) @ UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (10-11, 7-4)

Taryn and Robert Taylor (parents of Bryan Taylor)

Taryn: We live in San Jose so only get to some of the Mustangs’ games. But Bryan thinks this game is going to be a big one for Cal Poly plus we’re going to spend a couple days in Santa Barbara, which is a great place to visit.

Robert: Bryan’s been getting quite a bit more playing time this season that he did as a freshman last year. Coach Aura has told us that Bryan’s play has really improved this season. He’s had several double-digit scoring games and is averaging 7.2 ppg while playing 14.6 mpg. He’s knocked down 48% of his FG’s, 42% of his 3’s, and 94% of his FT’s.

Taryn: There are other Cal Poly fans here, we’re definitely in the distinct minority.

Robert: The Mustangs have two players (C Don Seals and PG Edouard La Touche) who have injuries that will limit their playing time tonight. Hopefully the rest of the team steps up to fill in for them since the Gauchos have got hot lately and now have a 5-game win streak to move into 3rd place in conference play.

Seals starts and certainly doesn’t look like he’s injured. He scores 8 of the Mustangs’ first 10 points.

Taryn: Bryan gets into the game with a little over 14 minutes left in the first half and Cal Poly on top 12-8. Alrhough he misses a couple 3’s he makes a great assist a couple minutes later. Bryan hit’s a 3 to make it 24-16 in favor of the Mustangs.

Robert: Too many damned turnovers let the Gauchos come back to take a 33-31 halftime lead. Bryan played 10 minutes and scored 5 points and had 2 assists. Our other guards had a tough time and only scored 2 points.

Robert: The lead shifts back and forth in the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half, but the Mustangs still are making too many turnovers and grabbing too few rebounds. So with 11 minutes to go, they’re down 51-40.

Taryn: You know, Robert, the refs are really working over the Mustangs in the 2nd half. Too many “home” calls.

Robert: Yeah, but the Mustangs just aren’t hitting enough of their shots. Cal Poly gets within 5 points but no closer. They lose 75-68.

Taryn: Bryan and Aki Mosley are the only Mustangs to score in double figures with each scoring 10 points.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (13-8, 10-2) @ UC Riverside Highlanders (9-12, 6-6)

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

When we played the Highlanders on our own court about 5 weeks ago, we only beat them by 8 points. They’ve been a pretty tough team on their home court. They’re led by PG Tim Tart who is averaging 14.6 ppg and 4.0 apg and has knocked down a little over 50% of his shots from the field. They have two other players averaging in double figures: SG John O’Hanlon with 11.3 ppg and PF Bernard Mendez with 12.5 ppg. The entire team has converted 49% of their FG attempts. After losing our last game, we need to get back on the victory train. But we have 3 players with nagging injuries: C Don Seals, PG Aki Mosley, and PG Edouard La Touche. Each of them can play, but they’re likely to be less effective than usual.

We didn’t shoot well early in the game, but Derrick LaLane came in and gave us a quick boost and we led 12-7 with 12 minutes remaining in the half. But we fell behind 19-18 with just under 6 minutes to go til halftime. When the half ended we were on the short end of a 35-30 score. 11 turnovers caused Coach Aura to tear into the team in the locker room.

We came out cold in the 2nd half. We fell behind by 10 before finally hitting our first basket with 16-1/2 minutes remaining. Our turnover woes continued and we dropped behind by 14. Coach Aura increased the defensive pressure with 6 minutes to go and we began to cut into the lead. Aki Mosley cut into a passing lane and stole the ball…he drove down court and then fired it to Derrick LaLane who jammed it home to get us within a single point at 61-60 with 2:09 left in the game. Don Seals hit a free throw to tie the game with 1:26 remaining. The Highlanders then hit a 3. After a time out, Terrell Alexander popped in a jumper off a pick and roll to get us back within a point. The Highlanders missed a shot and we grabbed the rebound. But we were unable to hit a shot from half-court with time expiring and lost 64-63.

PF Derrick LaLane had a great game, scoring 19 points and pulling down 7 rebounds. SG Terrell Alexander and C Don Seals both scored 11 points.

Our 2nd straight loss reduced our lead to ½ game over UC Davis and 1 game over UC Santa Barbara.

[PointGuard]

Long Beach State 49ers (7-14, 5-7) @ Cal Poly Mustangs (13-9, 10-3)

Zahara Carter, Assistant (sports administration)

After losing two in a row on the road, the Mustangs returned to home and jumped ahead from the first possession and by the end of the half were ahead 40-22 and totally in charge.

The 49ers were unable to cut into the lead in the 2nd half and actually fell behind by as much as 26 points. Coach Aura substituted liberally and Cal Poly finished with a solid 80-64 stomping of Long Beach State. The win maintained our very slim lead in the Big West Conference.

Five Mustangs players scored in double figures: C Don Seals-17, PF Curtis Pearson-14, SG Terrell Alexander-13, SF Richard Lawson-11, and PF Derrick LaLane-10. Seals also had 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks.

[PointGuard]

Cal State Fullerton Titans (11-11, 7-6) @ Cal Poly Mustangs (14-9, 11-3)

Benny Tamago, realtor (fan)

I got together with several other fans to watch what turned out to be an extremely exciting game. The lead see-sawed back and forth with Cal Poly eking out a 34-32 halftime advantage. The game continued to be exceptionally close for the first 11 minutes of the 2nd half. But after 14 lead changes and 7 ties, the Mustangs offense began clicking and they steadily pulled away in the final 9 minutes to gain a 78-67 victory. The biggest difference between the two teams was Cal Poly’s domination of the boards (+10).

C Don Seals scored 15 points and grabbed 7 boards. PF Curtis Pearson, SF Richard Lawson, and SG/PG Bryan Taylor each scored 12 points with Pearson pulling down 9 rebounds, dishing out 4 assists and making 3 steals. PG Aki Mosley added 11 points.

Cal Poly is now 1 game ahead of UC Davis and 2 games ahead of 3rd place UC Santa Barbara in the conference standings. But their next 2 games are on the road including a game against 2nd place UC Davis.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (15-9, 12-3) @ Cal State Northridge Matadors (7-16, 6-8)

San Luis Obispo Tribune

MUSTANGS AND MATADORS IN SQUEAKER

After trailing Cal State Northridge most of the first half, the Mustangs got hot late in the half to jump ahead 32-22 at halftime. They were led by C Don Seal’s 12 points with PG Aki Mosley tossing in 9 points in the half.

The two teams traded baskets during the first 4 minutes of the 2nd half, but then Cal Poly pulled away to a 45-28 lead with 14 minutes to play. The Matadors then went on a 16-1 run to get within 2 points with just under 10 minutes left in the game. Cal State Northridge edged ahead with 6-1/2 minutes remaining. The Mustangs shooting was stone cold and they fell behind 55-50 two minutes later. But Cal Poly then scored 8 straight points to regain a 3-point lead with 1-1/2 minutes left to play. The Matadors’ Jon Anderson drilled a 3 to tie the game. PG Aki Mosley was fouled on the Mustangs next possession and he made both ends of a one-and-one making it 60-58. A short sideline jumper by David Seldan tied the game again, but C Curtis Pearson got free and sunk a 12 footer giving the Mustangs another 2 point lead with 28 seconds on the clock. Then Pearson got a steal in the lane and fired a long outlet pass to Derrick LaLane who jammed it home. Anderson dropped in a 3 from the corner with 2 seconds remaining to make the final score 64-63 in favor of Cal Poly.

Cal Poly had 5 more rebounds and 3 less turnovers that the Matadors, but Cal State Northridge hit 50% of their FG’s. To a large part, the Mustangs’ victory was due to C Don Seals and PG Aki Mosley scoring 18 and 17 points, respectively. None of the Matadors scored more than 12 points.

Coach Fred Aura said, “The Matadors gave us everything we could handle tonight. Their comeback midway through the 2nd half nearly buried us. But I was pleased by how our guys didn’t fold and rallied late in the game to pull out the narrowest of victories. Winning this kind of hard-fought game is a good confidence builder for us. It was a good preparation for what I expect will be a real battle when we take on UC Davis on the road later this week.”

The win, coupled with losses by UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara, gave the Mustangs a 2-1/2 game cushion over those two teams with 2 weeks left in the season. The win was tempered somewhat by three Cal Poly players sustaining injuries. Bryan Taylor injured his wrist and Donald Brown sustained a knee injury. Both are considered to be minor injuries that should be fully healed within a week. Curtis LaLane sprained his ankle near the very end of the game and may not play against UC Davis.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (16-9, 13-3) @ UC Davis Aggies (13-11, 10-5)

Rob Benchley, Athletic Director

This was a donnybrook. Neither team could get much of a lead at any point during the game. We had a very small lead during much of the first half, but the Aggies lept past us 6 minutes before halftime. Our guys regained the lead in the final 2 minutes to end up on top 35-30 at the break. We held onto the lead for the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half, but UC Davis again moved past us at that point and maintained a small advantage over us for the next 5 minutes. The final 5 minutes were highlighted by a series of lead changes. But we edged ahead with 2 minutes to go and the Aggies were forced to foul. Our foul shooting was impeccable and offset some late FG’s by the Aggies. So we came away with a narrow 76-73 victory.

Again, C Don Seals led the way to our win, scoring 19 points and getting 3 steals and 2 blocks. PF Curtis Pearson scored 12 and SF Richard Lawson put in 10 points plus pulled down 6 boards.

Our injuries are piling up. PG Aki Mosley now has a minor shoulder injury and Taylor, LaLane, and Brown are still nursing their injuries. The long season is taking its toll.