Cal Poly evens record at 4-4 with win over Pepperdine

On Saturday night, Cal Poly overcame two injured big men and foul trouble for one of their leading scorers to beat Pepperdine 91-81 at Mott Athletic Center.

Luke Meikle played 32 solid minutes on Saturday night, totaling 11 points. By Owen Main

Without injured forwards Josh Martin and Karlis Garoza, Cal Poly was already playing shorthanded. When Victor Joseph picked up his second foul early in the first half, Cal Poly had to dig even deeper into their bench, finding a way to pull away from Pepperdine in the second half for the victory.

Fields continues to find buckets

Junior guard Donovan Fields played all 40 minutes, tallying 17 points, 11 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 assists on the night. With Joseph held to just a pair of second-half free throws, it was up to the other half of the Mustangs’ dominant, diminutive duo to maintain order, and he responded well.

With a 6-6 night from the free throw line, Fields is now 25-25 from the charity stripe on the season. 

Solid performance from Big Hank and Abrams

Against a smaller Pepperdine team that hesitated to double-team in the post, Hank Hollingsworth and Aleks Abrams went to work. Abrams finished with six points in limited time — all scored inside the paint. Hollingsworth notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. More importantly, Hollingsworth was a defensive presence in the paint, blocking four shots and altering many more. 

If Cal Poly can get consistent play from the center position that has been occupied by Hollingsworth, Abrams, and Garoza, it will make the game a lot easier for their group of guards and wing players. 

“The bow-wows” coming to town

Sitting at 4-4 with three wins over Division I opponents in non-conference already, Cal Poly will host Fresno State on Saturday night. Coming off of finals week, a matchup against another top-100 team and a regional rival should be an interesting one. 

Cal Poly has already knocked-off one team with a similar profile to Fresno State this season in the College of Charleston. Fresno State is used to hosting the Mustangs, but the last time they played Cal Poly at Mott (December 5, 2015), the Mustangs took it to the Bulldogs, winning 77-65 behind solid performances from David Nwaba and Taylor Sutlive. Cal Poly finished 10-20 that season. 

This year’s Fresno State game is the second of three straight home Saturday night contests (Pepperdine, Fresno State, Princeton). Tip-off is 7:00pm inside Mott Athletics Center. 

Photos by Owen Main. To see more photos or to purchase photos, click here. If you just want to contribute to the cause, Venmo @Owen-Main or paypal owen@fansmanship.com.