Mustangs drop triple overtime thriller to Aggies

In the longest game in their history in Division I, Cal Poly hung close with Big West rival UC Davis, but the Aggies scored 17 points in the third overtime period to pull away and win 92-84 on Thursday night at Mott Athletics Center.

The loss drops Cal Poly’s record in Conference play to 3-9, tied for 7th place, but just one game ahead of the 9th spot in the conference. With games against CSUN (next Thursday) and at UC Riverside (a week after that) on the horizon, Cal Poly nearly clawed out of the hole and vaulted themselves into sole posession of 7th place. Instead, the Mustangs were left wondering what happened. 

Cal Poly shouldn’t have been in the game at all. After failing to make a field goal for nearly eight minutes in the game, the Mustangs, miraculously, were only behind by nine points at halftime — a reasonable deficit for a team that only scored 18 points in the period. 

In the second half, Cal Poly seemed to have snatched the momentum. With 3:10 left in the game, Aleks Abrams made a layup to put Cal Poly up by five points. — their largest lead. Just 19 seconds later, UC Davis got Michael Onyebalu an open look from deep that he knocked down. After a missed shot, the Aggies’ Rogers Printup made another three. In two possessions, Cal Poly’s five point lead had turned into a one point deficit.

The triple overtime game was the first since the early 80’s for a program that moved to Division I in the 90’s. 

Clutch moments

There are bound to be tons of clutch moments in a triple overtime game. Down by two points with 11 seconds left, Siler Schneider made two free throws for UC Davis. The first two overtimes featured the two teams going a combined 10-10 from the free throw line. After another Onyebalu three pointer put Davis up by three points in the final minute of the second extra frame, Luke Meikle answered with an open triple with 36 seconds to go to effectively earn the third overtime. 

Third time’s a charm

After scoring just 11 points total in the first two overtimes, UC Davis exploded for 17 in the final period. Siler Schneider scored the first four points of the third OT. Schneider had 8 of his 16 points during the third OT. Onyebalu finished with a game-high 24 points on 5-7 from three point range for UC Davis.

No Chima, no problem

Still without the preseason player of the year favorite Chima Moneke, UC Davis was outrebounded 53-41 (17-9 on the offensive glass), but still managed to hold onto the win. One reason was the turnover disparity. Cal Poly committed 21 — three games’ worth just a few years ago — while UC Davis turned it over just 13 times. The Aggies also held a 27-12 advantage in points off turnovers. 

Mustang leaders

Luke Meikle led the Mustangs with 21 points. Victor Joseph shot just 2-7 from three point range, but managed 19 points and three assists. Donovan Fields, who was hobbled with foul trouble all night, shot just 1-8 from the field for 4 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Kuba Niziol came to play, shooting all 12 of his shots from distance and making five of them for 15 points and seven rebounds. 

Two unlikely sources of production and crunch time minutes were Aleks Abrams and Trevor John. Abrams came off the bench to notch his first career double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds). The junior from Oaks Christian High School also notched three blocks in the game. John made a two-pointer, 2-3 from deep, and a pair of free throws for 10 points. 

Davis D

UC Davis’ defense was pretty well-executed in this game. The Aggies worked hard for 55 minutes to deny Cal Poly passes. There were possessions late in the game after Fields fouled-out where the Mustangs had a difficult time moving the ball beyond their three point line. 

The proof is in the numbers too. Cal Poly shot just 34.7 percent from the field for the game and just 32.5 percent from two point range. 

No rest for the weary

Cal Poly will host UC Irvine (8-4, 13-15, second place) on Saturday night. The Anteaters will be stinging still from a low-scoring loss at Hawai’i. Cal Poly fans will hope that UCI is road-weary — there are no direct flights to SLO from Hawai’i. 

Cal Poly out-rebounded UC Davis on Thursday night, but UC Irvine is one of the best rebounding teams in the nation. Look for Cal Poly’s big-man play on Saturday. It could be the fulcrum of Cal Poly’s ability to leverage their way into another home conference win. 

Photos by Owen Main.

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