Cal Poly loses third straight to start the season

After losing their first two games, Cal Poly men’s basketball traveled East on Wednesday night to battle Fresno State and try to get their first win of the year. Instead, they may have just got more questions.

David Nwaba threw down two nasty dunks in the first half on Wednesday night. By Owen Main

Fresno State used a 24-9 run over the final 12:15 of the first half to take a 12-point lead into halftime and never looked back. The Mustangs looked good early with sophomore wing David Nwaba slamming down two fast-break dunks to give Cal Poly a 10-7 lead. But the Bulldogs out-rebounded the Mustangs 26-14 in the first half during the decisive run.

“A pivotal part of the game was when they attacked the glass and got three or four possessions at one time. That’s back-breaking, said Cal Poly head coach, Joe Callero. “Playing defense doesn’t matter. You have to finish the play. We haven’t finished the play. We haven’t had that mindset of finishing that play every time. Hopefully it’s something we develop here before conference play, obviously.”

Cal Poly inched back into the game, cutting the lead to five with 14:05 left in the game. But then the Mustangs went cold, not scoring for 6:12 as Fresno State built back an insurmountable 14-point lead. Most of their scoring droughts are coming when starters go out and rotations change.

“We’re not complimentary yet,” said Callero. “We may have turned the ball over once [in the first half], but we didn’t compliment each other for 20 minutes. We played good for 10 to 12 minutes and then there’s eight more minutes where we’re just out there. We’re not complimenting each other, and I think that’s the biggest issue we’re still trying to iron out with the team right now.”

Chris Eversley led Cal Poly with 14 points and seven rebounds. David Nwaba scored in double figures for the second time in three games, tallying 11 points. Jamal Johnson and Brian Bennett added nine. Kyle Odister was the only other Mustang to score — he had three points. Only five Cal Poly players — the starting five — scored all game.

Cal Poly shot 17-53 for the game, a 32 percent clip.

“Those are shots we usually make,” said Eversley. “Those are shots we make in other gyms as well, especially at home… . It’s just a mixture of making the shots when they’re open and then just shot selection.”

David Nwaba brought a lot of energy early for Cal Poly on Wednesday. By Owen Main

In previous years, Cal Poly could always be counted on to play with some extra savvy, even if they weren’t physically matched-up with whatever team they were playing. This season, they seem to be a better physical match with longer, more athletic players at some positions, but they haven’t yet garnered results for Callero and his team.

“I’m not surprised by our let-down because it’s still what we do in practice,” said Callero. “We have not sustained a practice. A team has not established a practice ethic that will sustain high-major basketball to win games… . We’ll have 20 minutes of really great practice. We’ll have 10 minutes of  good practice, and we’ll have 10 minutes of a poor practice, and the bottom drops out of the concentration level.”

Fresno State sported four guards and a forward who each averaged at or above 9.7 points per game. Four of the top-eight players in their rotation are freshmen. Five players scored in double figures for the Bulldogs on Wednesday night, led by Allen Huddleston, who dropped 14. Overall, Fresno State out-rebounded Cal Poly 45-28, including a 10-6 advantage on offensive rebounds.

“A pivotal part of the game was when they attacked the glass and got three or four possessions at one time,” said Callero. “That’s back-breaking.”

The Mustangs played 12 players including freshman Taylor Sutlive, who went scoreless in his first action in a Cal Poly uniform. In all, non-starters only took six shots.

“Right now we’re really working on trying to sustain an energy and a focus,” said Cal Poly coach Joe Callero. “We came out really trying to stay focused and energized. I thought we had a nice start. We have not found a rotation off the bench that gives us any sustainability, something we have to clearly work on.”

Callero also called Nwaba “probably the most important ingredient” to keep the energy level up. “But he fatigues so quickly,” said Callero. “He goes a million miles an hour and gives us energy and then, oh boy, he’s gotta get a five minute rest, and during that period we’ve got to be able to find that next energy, and that next rotation — something we’ve got to work on.”

The Mustangs are 0-3 for the first time since Joe Callero’s first season at the helm.

“It’s tough,” said Eversley. “Nobody wants to be in this position, but at the same time it’s a marathon, not a sprint… . We want it like this. We want to be in adverse situations so we’re sitting in the Honda Center on a Saturday night preparing to play on Sunday in March.”