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[PointGuard]

#6 seed Cal Poly Mustangs (5-3) vs #3 seed Nevada Wolfpack (6-3) [Bahama Classic Tournament]

KXTA Sports Radio

Cal Poly’s basketball team took on the Nevada Wolfpack in the first round of the Bahama Classic earlier today. The favored Wolfpack scored the first 10 points of the game. That forced Cal Poly to play catch up. They got close midway through the half, fell behind again and then went ahead 30-29 in the final 2 seconds of the first half. After defense predominated in the first half, both teams got their offenses going in the 2nd half. The Mustangs hit a higher percentage of their shots than Nevada and pulled away to lead by as much as 11 points. Nevada made a game of it late by narrowing the gap, but Cal Poly held on to upset the Wolfpack 70-65.

PG Danny Preston and C Steve Hastings both scored 17 points for the Mustangs with Hastings also pulling down 5 boards. Freshman SG Jase Carroll scored 9 and C/PF Estell Luton dropped in 8 points plus also grabbed 11 rebounds.

[PointGuard]

#7 seed Lehigh Mountain Hawks (6-3) vs #6 seed Cal Poly Mustangs (6-3) [Bahama Classic Tournament, Semifinals]

KCPR—Cal Poly radio station

Hey Mustangs fans. Our team just finished taking on the Lehigh Mountain Hawks in the semfinals of the Bahama Classic Tourney. And after winning a close battle in their opener, Cal Poly again was in a hard-fought clash with 11 lead changes and 7 ties. Also as in their first game, the opening half was a defensive tussle with the Mustangs coming out of it with a narrow 29-25 lead. But the offenses of both teams caught fire in the 2nd half. Neither team lead by more than 4 points during the first 12 minutes of the 2nd half. The Mustangs them pulled out to a 10 point lead with 6 minutes to go. But Lehigh didn’t give up and nibbled away at that lead. Although challenged, the Mustangs didn’t fold and came away with an 81-77 victory that will send them to the championship game against #1 seed Ohio State tomorrow night. The Mustangs knocked down 52% of their shots compared to 42% by Lehigh.

Leading our Mustangs to their triumph were: C Steve Hastings with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists; SG Jase Carroll with 16 points, 2 assists, and 4 steals; PG Danny Preston with 15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals; PF/C Estell Luton with 11 points and 5 boards; and SF Louis Taylor with 8 points and 4 rebounds.

[PointGuard]

#6 seed Cal Poly Mustangs (7-3) vs #1 seed, #3 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (8-0) [Bahama Classic Tournament Championship]

KSBO-CD tv sports report

The Mustangs came into this game as 17-1/2 point underdogs to the undefeated and #3 ranked Buckeyes. Ohio State has annihilated their first two opponents in the tournament while Cal Poly had to fight to win narrow victories. Making things more difficult for the Mustangs, two of their players sustained injuries in their prior game against Lehigh and joined C Calvis Barnes on the injured list. PF Brandon Bailey came out of the game with a sore leg and SG Damien sprained a finger.

After coming away with thrilling wins in the first to tourney games, the Mustangs showed pluck throughout the entire first half during which their were 10 lead changes. At halftime, Cal Poly trailed 29-27. But 4 minutes into the second half, the Buckeyes began showing their dominance and gradually pulled further ahead to finish the game with a 78-60 win over the Mustangs. Ohio State held a 54% to 40% advantage over the Mustangs on shooting from the field and edged Cal Poly in most other team stats. The Mustangs’ PG Scotty Lee was sidelined with a sprained toe midway through the 2nd half.

Topping the scoring for Cal Poly were C Steve Hastings and SF Louis Taylor with 12 points apiece, PG Danny Preston with 9 points, and PF/C Estell Luton with 8 points. Preston also had 7 assists and 3 steals and Luton had 6 rebounds.

Coach Fred Aura said, “We made a game of it for 24 minutes but then the Buckeyes outgunned us and showed why they’re undefeated and so highly ranked. While we wanted to win the championship, we had a very good tournament and I’m proud of how our guys played.”

[PointGuard]

St. Bonaventure Bonnies (3-6) @ Cal Poly Mustangs (7-4)

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

Another close game for the Mustangs this season. I’m always amazed the Fred doesn’t have ulcers after coaching so many tight games. In this game, neither team was ahead by more than 5 points in the first half and there were 11 lead changes before the buzzer sounded ending the half with Cal Poly on top by just one point at 37-36. The Mustangs had a tough time with the Bonnies’ SG Brad Burrough and SF Tyrone Nichols who combined to score 27 points in the half. The game remained close for 5 minutes in the 2nd half but then Cal Poly opened a double-digit lead with 13 minutes to go which expanded to 19 points. St. Bonaventure held the Mustangs scoreless for the final 3 minutes to cut the Cal Poly’s lead to 71-63 at the end of the game.

C Steve Hastings continued to pour in points, finishing with 21 in this game plus he had 5 rebounds and 2 assists. SF Louis Taylore hit for 13 points and he pulled down 5 rebounds. SG Jase Carroll also scored 13 points and he had 4 assists and 3 steals.

[PointGuard]

Cory McCreight

With an entire week between last game with St. Bonaventure and our next game against Pacific, we had some intense practices. Apparently that boiled over to some negative intensity and led to a loud argument between Eddie Erskin and DJ Morse. With Coach Aura away for some out-of-town meetings, the responsibility fell to o handle it. I spoke with each to try to defuse the emotions. While Eddie took my counselling well, DJ was combative. It looks like we’ll need to work to avoid him losing the respect of the rest of the team. We’ve needed him as a backup inside while Calvis Barnes has been on the injured list the past month. Calvis is now back, so DJ will need to get his act together to avoid being suspended if his attitude doesn’t improve.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (8-4) at Pacific Tigers (12-1)

Rob Benchley, Athletic Director

When I scheduled the game against Pacific, I didn’t expect them to be as tough a team as they’ve been so far this season. As recently as 2 weeks ago, they were ranked in the Top 25 in the polls. They’ve played well with wins over Kansas State, Fresno State, and South Florida and being crowned champions of the WSSN Tournament. Had they not been playing all their non-tourney games at home, I’m sure they’d still be in the Top 25. They’re the 7th best scoring team, averaging 81.5 ppg and they’ve given up just 62.3 ppg, which is 32nd best in Division 1. Pacific has 4 players averaging in double figures, led by SG Morris Harris’ 17.5 ppg. The Tigers are going to be a handful for our team. With this being the last game before conference play begins, it’s good to be going up against a tough opponent. I’m glad Calvis Barnes will be back on the court after missing the past 5 weeks with a broken finger. While Coach Aura isn’t starting him tonight, we’ll need Calvis performing as well as he was prior to the injury. But it will be great to have our big 4 (Hastings, Bailey, Barnes and Luton) handling our interior positions tonight.

Pacific began by blowing us away offensively and defensively as well as dominating the boards. After 8 minutes we trailed 27-12. Our D finally solidified and we went on a 9-0 run to get back into the game. But the Tigers began hitting shots again and stretched their lead to 45-33 at halftime. We’re letting them get too many open shots that have allowed them to hit 63% of their FG’s.

The entire Pacific team continued to drop shot after shot through the basket and we trailed by 20 midway through the half. We were unable to challenge and dropped this game 87-69. We were outclassed by the Tigers.

PG Danny Preston had 11 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks. SG Jase Carroll and PG Scotty Lee both scored 10, C Steve Hastings hit for 9 points, and C/PF Estell Luton scored 8 with PF/C’s Calvis Barnes and Brandon Bailey both scored 7 points.

Injury Report: In the 2nd half, C Steve Hastings went down with a broken leg. He’s expected to be unable to play for about 8 weeks, which means he will miss all or nearly all of the team’s conference games, but should be back for tournament play. Since he’s the team’s top scorer (14.5 ppg) and 2nd highest rebounder (5.2 rpg), it’s a big loss.

[PointGuard]

The Jamie Monroe Big West Review

The 10 Big West teams completed their pre-conference schedules and begin conference play this week. Here’s how the conference’s teams fared:

UC San Diego Tritons: 8-3, NET Ranking 149
Cal Poly Mustangs: 8-5, NET Ranking 43
UC Irvine Anteaters: 6-5, NET Ranking 95
UC Riverside Highlanders: 5-6, NET Ranking 224
Cal State Fullerton Titans: 4-7, NET Ranking 306
Cal State Northridge Matadors: 3-8, NET Ranking 360
UC Davis Aggies: 3-8, NET Ranking 297
Long Beach State 49ers, 3-9, NET Ranking 334
Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners: 3-9, NET Ranking 347
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors: 2-9, NET Ranking 348

Obviously, none of these teams has done well enough to be in the Top 25 in the polls, but here’s the Top 10 teams in the Media Poll (The same teams make up the Top 10 in the Coaches Poll, although there is some difference in the position where some are ranked):

1. Kentucky Wildcats, 13-0
2. Ohio State Buckeyes, 12-1
3. Memphis Tigers, 13-3
4. Temple Owls, 13-2
5. Kansas Jayhawks, 12-3
6. Purdue Boilermakers, 12-1
7. Minnesota Golden Gophers, 10-2
8. Cincinnati Bearcats, 11-3
9. Oklahoma State Cowboys, 11-4
10. Wichita State Shockers, 12-2

Here’s the Top 10 players in scoring (PPG) within the Big West Conference:

1. Steve Angner, Hawaii—20.8
2. Paul Dye, UC Irvine—18.0
3. Lamont Clark, UC Irvine—16.8
4. JaRon Mihm, Cal St. Fullerton—16.2
5. Alvin Betts, UC Davis—15.9
6. David Cooper, Long Beach St.—14.8
7. Kevin Lumpkin, UC Riverside—14.6
8. Steve Hastings, Cal Poly—14.5
9. Doylan Augustine, UC San Diego—14.5
10. Kenny Graves, Hawaii—13.8

Top 5 rebounders (RPG) in Big West:

1. Dan Bosl, Cal St. Bakersfield—8.1
2. JaRon Mihm, Cal St. Fullerton—7.6
3. Doylan Augustine, UC San Diego—7.5
4. David Cooper, Long Beach St.—7.1
5. Kenny Echols, Cal St. Bakersfield—6.8

The media in the areas near the 10 Big West teams has completed their annual prognostication on how the Big West standings will end up:

1. Cal Poly
2. UC Irvine
3. Cal St. Fullerton
4. UC San Diego
5. Long Beach St.
6. Hawaii
7. UC Riverside
8. Cal St. Northridge
9. UC Davis
10. Cal St. Bakersfield

[PointGuard]

Zahara Carter, Assistant (sports administration)

Top Player Stats for the Mustangs:

PPG: Hastings (14.5); Preston (10.2); Carroll (10.2); Bailey (8.8); Barnes (7.8); Luton (7.5); Lee (6.5); Taylor (6.5)

RPG: Barnes (5.3); Hastings (5.2); Bailey (5.1); Luton (4.7); Taylor (3.6); Carroll (3.3); Preston (2.5); Erskin (2.4)

APG: Preston (3.6); Lee (2.5); Carroll (2.3); Hastings (1.7); Bailey (1.2); Luton (1.0)

[PointGuard]

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (2-9, 0-0) @ Cal Poly Mustangs (8-5, 0-0)

Carlos and Maria Martinez, local residents

We’re excited to see how the Mustangs do the rest of this season. We’re biased of course, but we expect they will come out on top of the conference standings, win the Big West Tourney, and have a good run in the NCAA Tournament. We’re sorry that Steve Hastings has broken his leg and will be out of play for the next 6 weeks.

Cal Poly should have no problem with Hawaii tonight. Hawaii does have a player that could present problems for the Mustangs, though. Freshman SF Steven Angner is averaging 20.8 ppg and 4.6 rpg and has scored 20+ points in 5 of the Rainbow Warriors 11 games with a high of 36 points. The only other player for Hawaii averaging in double figures is C Kenny Graves (13.8 ppg).

There’s a pretty decent crowd here, but it’s far from a sell-out. Hawaii always has a nice fanbase attending mainland games.

It took the Mustangs about 5 minutes to shake off the Rainbow Warriors. But then it became apparent that Hawaii was outclassed. By halftime Cal Poly led 44-27. The Mustangs continued to distance themselves in the 2nd half. Hawaii was totally unable to control either Calvis Barnes or Estell Luton inside. And the Mustangs’ defense totally overwhelmed the hapless Rainbow Warriors. Another player for Cal Poly who looked very good offensively and defensively was SG Jase Carroll. When the final buzzer sounded, Cal Poly had knocked off Hawaii 77-45. Hawaii’s fans had very little to cheer about in this game.

Estell Luton had 18 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks. Calvis Barnes scored 17 points plus pulled down 8 rebounds. Jase Carroll had 8 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals. Damien Harris scored 8 points and dished out 3 assists. The Mustangs held Hawaii’s high-scoring SG Steven Angner to just 2 points with Carroll and Harris all over him the entire game.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (9-5, 1-0) @ Long Beach State 49ers (3-10, 0-1)

Coach Fred Aura

Omari and I got into it yesterday after practice. I guess it’s not surprising since having your son work with you is bound to occasionally lead to not only differences of opinion, but those differences being aggravated by our familiarity. Janeka says to just let it go and put it out of my mind. Easier said than done, but OK.

We’re heavily favored in this game since thus far the 49ers have not been a good shooting team, but playing a team on their court is always tough. Their offense thus far has primarily come from their two big men, Mike Hammond and David Cooper, who have combined to average 26.5 ppg and 11.5 rpg.

Long Beach State jumped out to a 7-1 lead and then with 11 minutes left in the half, we were down 24-13. We slowly chipped away at that lead and with just under 2 minutes on the clock, Jase Carroll dropped in 2 free throws to give us our first lead at 34-33. When the half finished we were up 40-38. Jase Carroll led our attack by scoring 12 points. We made too many turnovers (8) in the first half and need to take better control of the ball in the 2nd half.

Even though he failed to score in the first half, Danny Preston scored 7 points in the first 6 minutes of the 2nd half to keep us ahead 52-51. We held onto a very small lead but the refs were hammering us with fouls. I got on them and they T’d me. They fouls continued to mount allowing the 49ers to tie us. Then just after 3 minutes remained, Long Beach State hit 2 straight 3’s, then a FG, and then 2 free throws in less than 90 seconds to put us down by 10. We tried to recover, but simply ran out of time and lost 93-87. So much for the 49ers not being a good scoring team.

SG Jason Carroll scored 26 points plus had 4 rebounds and 3 assists. PF Calvis Barnes had 20 points, 8 boards, and 2 assists. SF Louis Taylor hit for 10 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Long Beach State’s PG Rob Traylor scored 24 points.

Even though we’re now 1 and 1 in conference play, just one team (Cal State Fullerton) is 2-0.