SAME FEDORA-NEW CROWN?

[PointGuard]

Coach Fred Aura

Freshman PF Darcel Aygar’s personality continues to erode his relationships with his teammates and we coaches. He has a lot of talent and potential, but his attitude keeps him from being as effective as possible. I’ve given him a lot of encouragement previously, but it’s not had a positive effect on him. I had to counsel him today and it really didn’t go well. I was close to suspending him, but decided to give him another chance before doing so. He’s hanging on the team by a thread, though. The way things are going, I wouldn’t be surprised if he decides to transfer after this season. I've just been unable to get through to him.

[PointGuard]

Cal State Northridge Matadors (9-10, 6-4) @ Cal Poly Mustangs (16-4, 6-3)

Janeka Aura

Fred is as surprised as are the rest of us at how jumbled the top end of the Big West standings are this season. He’s also disappointed that the team doesn’t seem to be progressing. I’m hoping the Mustangs can run off a nice win streak beginning with a win tonight.

The Matadors defeated Cal Poly by a 76-69 score 3 weeks ago when we played them on their court. That’s the game in which PG Danny Preston sustained a broken wrist. Fred isn’t happy about that La Touche, Taylor or Lepore have been able to step up and fill the hole left by Preston needing to recover. I think Fred was pretty sure that Taylor or La Touche had it in them to lead the team and be productive. Instead they’ve been, should we say, inconsistent at best. Taylor is starting tonight. He’ll have to try to contain CSUN’s PG Fred Diggs who’s averaging nearly 13 ppg, while SG Nikolo Ivelitsch will be responsible for stopping Mike Forrest, the Big West’s top scorer and his 21.1 ppg average. The game’s about to start so let’s see how it goes.

CSUN’s coach is riding the refs due to his team picking up a series of early fouls. Another shaky shooting performance by the Mustangs early in the game. Fred needs to settle them down in this first media time out. Shooting isn’t improving and we’re down 18-8 after 9 minutes of play. Ugh, we keep missing shots we should have made and now trail by 15 points. The Mustangs cut their deficit to 37-28 at halftime. Diggs and Forrest have combined to score 20 points for the Matadors. Cal Poly has only been able to knock down 35% of their shots and are 1 for 11 from outside the arc. They’ve even shot poorly from the free thow line, making just 9 of 17 attempts.

Even though the Mustangs have made a small comeback, I could tell by Fred’s body language during the first media timeout of the 2nd half that he’s not happy with how his guys are performing. 9 minutes to go, and while Cal Poly has cut the lead to 4 or 5 points several times, they keep letting the Matadors reopen an 8-10 point advantage. Yikes! CSUN is hitting some big baskets and the Mustangs are still not getting the ball into the hoop enough and now trail by 17 with 6 minutes to go. The game finally ends and not in a good way. CSUN—73, Cal Poly—52. A really horrible performance by the Mustangs. 32% on FG’s, 19% on 3’s, 60% on FT’s, -2 on rebounding, 4 more turnovers. Fred’s not going to be in a good mood when he gets home tonight.

SG Trey Small was the only player to score in double figures and he had just 12 points. CSUN’s Mike Forrest had 26 points and 8 rebounds.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (16-5, 6-4) @ UC Irvine Anteaters (12-8, 6-4)

San Luis Obispo Tribune

CAL POLY’S MID-SEASON COLLAPSE CONTINUES

In a game between two teams tied for 5th place in the Big West Standings, UC Irvine came away with a 79-70 victory moving them into a tie for 3rd. Cal Poly’s loss dropped the Mustangs into sole possession of 6th place.

In the first half the Anteaters used hot shooting (60%) and scoring 10 more points at the foul line than the Mustangs to take a 43-35 at halftime. UC Irvine’s sharp shooting continued in the 2nd half as they built a 17 point with 10 minutes to go in the game. Cal Poly made a furious comeback to narrow the gap to just 4 points with 6 minutes remaining. Momentum then shifted again as the Anteaters stretched their lead to 11 points. Another surge by the Mustangs cut the lead to 5 but they were forced to foul late and were unable to overtake the Anteaters.

UC Irvine was led by SG Nate Bruce who scored a career-high 21 points and had 9 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and a block while C Mark Route scored 18 and grabbed 7 rebounds. For the Mustangs, SF Trey Small scored 17 points, SG Nikolos Ivelitsch scored 14 points, and PG Bryan Taylor had 12 points plus 7 assists.

Cal Poly head coach Fred Aura said, “We were called for twice as many fouls as were the Anteaters, and they got to the line 16 more times and scored 14 more points on free throws than us. That’s not an excuse, just a fact. We’re definitely in a bit of a slump and need to be able to overcome that sort of problem. Slumps happen from time-to-time. Our aim is to turn things around to peak at the end of the season and carry that momentum into post-season play.”

[PointGuard]

UC San Diego Tritons (6-15, 3-9) @ Cal Poly Mustangs (16-6, 6-5)

Tom Poole, Cal Poly alum

The Mustangs need a big win to begin rebuilding their confidence which has had to be snatched from them after several recent losses. This should be a game we win. We beat them by 9 when we played on their court earlier this season, and I think we match up well against them. I understand that PF Darcel Aygar sustained a strained abdominal in practice and may be held out of the game tonight. Anyway, let me provide some comments as the game proceeds:

*3 minutes into the game, we’re down 8-3…a bad start both offensively and defensively.
*Refs are teaming up against Cal Poly…SF Trey Small goes to the bench with 2 fouls…12:15 left in the half and it’s 10-5 in favor of the Tritons. Then they assess the 7th team foul on the Mustangs a minute later…only 2 fouls called against UC San Diego.
*Cal Poly finally gains a tie at 16-16 with 7-1/2 minutes left in the half, but poor shooting keeps them from taking a lead even though the Tritons aren’t playing well. But with 3-1/2 minutes remaining, Justin Clausen picks off a pass and upcourts it to Benjamin Smith for a driving dunk to put them on top 20-18.
*The first half concludes with the Mustangs ahead 31-28. Pretty ugly by both team, although some of that was due to 4 of the Cal Poly starters spending considerable time on the bench with 2 fouls apiece.
*Fouls continue to mount in the 2nd half with Ivelitsch and Small both picking up their 3rd fouls in the first 2-1/2 minutes. Chambers is charged with his 3rd with 15 minutes left in the game.
*Collier works his way to the basket and muscles up a shot that goes in to put Cal Poly ahead 44-33…13:30 to go. The Mustangs offense, while not on fire, is doing much better in this half.
*Rod Boykin playing very well…has scored 12 and grabbed 3 rebounds in his first 12 minutes off the bench.
*A 10-2 run by the Tritons cuts Cal Poly’s lead to 5 with 9 minutes to go. But Dekker Chambers gets hot to reestablish a 14 point lead shortly thereafter.
*Cal Poly goes on to score a convincing 73-53 victory by improving their shooting from 37% in the first half to 50% for the entire game…so they hit over 60% of their shots in the 2nd half.
*Leading scorers: C Dekker Chambers-18 points, PF Rod Boykin-14 points, PG Tim Lepore-8 points, SF Benjamin Smith-8 points. The Mustangs’ reserves scored 38 of the teams 73 points.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (17-6, 7-5) @ Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners (5-17, 3-10)

Mustang News

MUSTANGS FINISH STRONG TO WIN

Cal Poly’s basketball team fought through 17 lead changes and 9 ties when they travelled to Bakersfield to gain a 65-58 victory over the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners.

The lead switched back and forth during the first 10 minutes. Cal Poly’s defense then shut down the Roadrunners enough for the Mustangs to take an 8 point lead. But CSU Bakersfield came on strong to get within one point at halftime.

The 2nd half was characterized by a series of small runs by both teams. The Roadrunners took their largest lead at 52-46 with 7 minutes remaining. The Mustangs then steadily cut into that lead, overtook the Roadrunners with 4 minutes left and then continued to outscore CSU Bakersfield to win by 7 points.

Leading the Mustangs was SG Nikolos Ivelitsch who scored 19 points and had 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Others scoring in double figures were PG Bryan Taylor with 11 points and C Dekker Chambers and SF Trey Small, both of who tossed in 10 points. Chambers also had 11 rebounds.

Coach Frederick Aura praised the Mustangs work on the boards, saying it was a major reason for their win. The team out-rebounded the Roadrunners 40-29.

The win improved the team’s Big West record to 8 and 5. The team moved up into sole possession of 5th place, 2 games behind conference-leading UC Santa Barbara. Their next game is this Friday at Long Beach State.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (18-6, 8-5) @ Long Beach State 49ers (12-12, 7-7)

Cal Poly Mustangs Sports Message Board

The Mustangs offense clicked as they opened a 12 point lead midway through the first half. But the 49ers cut into the lead in the final minutes of the half to make it 40-33 in favor of Cal Poly going into the 2nd half.

But in the 2nd half it was Long Beach State that got hot. They not only caught up but went ahead by 7 points in the first 8 minutes of the half. Cal Poly desperately tried to regain momentum and finally did, going ahead by 2 with 5 minutes left in the game. The lead then shifted back and forth with the 49ers hitting a 3 with 4 seconds remaining to tie the game at 82-82 and send it to overtime.

In the OT, Long Beach State scored 5 quick points forcing the Mustangs to scramble to get back into the game. They did it and again the lead fluctuated. The 49ers went ahead by 3 with 16 seconds to go. Cal Poly called a time out to set up a 3 point attempt which Trey Small nailed to tie the game with 6 seconds remaining. Cal Poly pressed by Long Beach State got the ball into the forecourt, and SG Kareem Wimbley cast up a shot from 25 feet out which went cleanly through the hoop as the buzzer sounded sending the Mustangs down to a crushing 97-94 overtime defeat as the 49ers home crowd went wild.

SF Trey Small: 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 blocks; PG Bryan Taylor: 17 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals; SG Nikolos Ivelitsch: 16 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists; PF Victor Collier: 10 points, 6 rebounds; C Dekker Chambers: 9 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals; PF Rodney Boykin: 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks.

[PointGuard]

KCPR—Cal Poly radio station

Jason Brandt interview of Coach Fred Aura

JB: Coach, tough loss against Long Beach State.

FA: That’s for sure. We had a strong first half, then a so-so 2nd half but got scorched twice by Long Beach State hitting last-second 3’s to tie us and send the team to OT and then to beat us with a long three as time was expiring in the OT.

JB: The team seemed to have it all together during pre-conference play only to take their lumps in conference play.

FA: We have such a young team this season with so many players who just joined us and are still learning to play as a cohesive team. So we’re having our ups and downs. Plus the conference is pretty competitive...no pushovers and 7 or 8 teams that seem poised to compete for finishes at or near the top of the standings.

JB: I understand that there’s a few players with injuries right now.

FA: You’re right. Of course, Danny Preston has been out of the lineup for a long time with a broken wrist. And Darcel Aygar has been nursing a strained abdominal. Darcel played for us in our last game, but probably won’t be back to 100% for 4 or 5 more days. Then Rodney Boykin just sustained an injury to his calf. It’s minor but probably will take several days to fully rehab. But that’s part of basketball and I think we have the depth to overcome those kind of injuries.

JB: Right now the team’s tied for 4th place and has the next 3 games against teams high in the standings. Do you feel the Mustangs are ready to compete with the best teams in the Big West?

FA: Yes I do, Jason. While I can’t promise a win every game, out intent all along has been to continue to improve. We’re aiming at finishing strong and I believe we can do it. Our young guys are getting stronger as the season progresses. And we’re also hoping to have Danny Preston back at PG in the next 8-10 days and I think that’s going to be a big spark for us.

JB: Finally, which player has been the biggest surprise for you this season?

FA: Heh, I could name several guys so picking out one is difficult. But Trey Small has done a heckuva good job for us at SF this year. While we thought he’d be good coming to us after playing two years of JC ball, he’s been our most consistent shooter from the perimeter, gets a lot of rebounds, and even dishes out a pretty good number of assists.

JB: Thanks Coach Aura. I really appreciate you filling in our listeners about the team.

[PointGuard]

UC Irvine Anteaters (14-10, 8-6) @ Cal Poly Mustangs (18-7, 8-6)

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

This is an important game for us. Not only are we tied with the Anteaters, but we have two teams nipping at our heels in the standings and need a win to begin to creep up on the teams above us. I’m a little concerned because we’re going to be lacking some interior depth with both Darcel Aygar and Rodney Boykin having injuries that may limit their playing time and possibly their effectiveness. We need to have Dekker Chambers and Victor Collier stay out of foul trouble. And UC Irvine is a tough competitor who beat us by 9 on their court a couple weeks ago. Four of their starters are averaging in double figures, led by Michael Dahle’s 16.6 ppg.

We got off to an extremely slow start. It took us 2-1/2 minutes to score and after 6-1/2 minutes we still had just 2 points. While we finally did start scoring it remained a painful effort the entire half as we hit just 26% of our FGA’s. We trailed 35-22 at the break.

Our shooting improved in the 2nd half and we slowly cut into the Anteaters’ lead. With 13 minutes to go we were within 2 points but had a tough time getting closer. But then with 7 minutes to go we were within a single point and we finally took a 61-60 lead with 5-1/2 minutes remaining. Our defense then kept UC Irvine from challenging and we finished with a 74-63 come-from-behind victory.

SG Nikolos Ivelitsch dropped in 24 points and grabbed 6 boards. SG/PG Bryan Taylor had 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.

The win moved us into a tie for 3rd place along with UC Riverside, 2 games behind conference-leading UC Santa Barbara and 1 game behind 2nd place UC Davis.

While we edged up in the standings, two of our players sustained injuries. PG/SG Bryan Taylor strained his hamstring that will likely require nearly a week to fully recover and PF Vincent Collier has a sprained wrist which will hamper him for a week-and-a-half.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (19-7, 9-6) @ UC Davis Aggies (16-8, 10-5)

C Dekker Chambers

We beat the Aggies by 11 points when they played at our place earlier this season. But since that we’ve been inconsistent while UC Davis has won 4 of their subsequent 5 games and are in 2nd place in the Big West, a game ahead of us. They’re a high scoring team with 4 starters averaging in double figures, led by C Corey Heideman’s 18.5 ppg. Heideman put 25 points up against us in the earlier game. I took that personally and really want to shut the guy down tonight. Heideman’s backup is averaging nearly 9 ppg and PF Senecca Curry is averaging almost 15 ppg, so the Aggies’ offense is really geared to work the ball inside and score in the paint. My interior partner, Victor Collier, has a sprained wrist…he’s going to play, but the injury just puts more pressure on us to try to control their big men.

I get tagged with an early foul but then draw Heideman into fouling me. We’re trying to work the ball inside so he and Curry pick up fouls. Curry scores the Aggies’ first 7 points of the game. Then with 15:20 on the clock, he comes down the lane driving to the hoop and I contest it, but the refs call me for my 2nd foul….Damn! Heideman picks up his 2nd foul 2 minutes later…Yes! UC Davis is ahead 18-6 with 12 minutes left in the half and Curry has scored 14 of those points. We only hit 35% of our shots in the first half and are in a 42-26 hole at halftime.

I don’t even want to talk about the 2nd half. Just know…we played like crap…and lost 86-67.

SG Nikolos Ivelitsch scored 14 and PF Darcel Aygar added 13. We held Heideman to just 8 points (mainly because he fouled out), but let Curry score 21 and Mann 19. The Aggies scored 40 freakin’ points in the paint. Embarrassing!

[PointGuard]

UC Riverside Highlanders (11-14, 9-7) @ Cal Poly Mustangs (19-8, 9-7)

Zahara Carter, Assistant (sports administration)

PG Danny Preston is back after missing 12 games due to an injury. The team won 13 of 15 games before he was injured but has been 6-6 during his absence. Let’s hope he’s not rusty. Maybe his return will re-ignite the Mustangs.

An unimpressive 1st half by the Mustangs. They trailed almost all the way and were down 25-22 at the break. They connected on just 33% of their shots.

Coach Aura must have given a good pep talk in the locker room because the Mustangs level of play improved in the 2nd half. They took a lead with 12 minutes remaining and very gradually expanded it slightly as the game progressed. The final score was Cal Poly-62, UC Riverside-52.

SG Nikolos Ivelitsch had 11 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. PF Darcel Aygar scored 10 points and pulled down 4 boards. PG Danny Preston finished with 9 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals.