First Half Perfection by Mustangs in Marauding of Matadors

The Cal Poly Mustang men sprinted out to an early lead and never looked back in their 100-54 route of the visting CSU Northridge Matadors Saturday night at Mott Gym.

The dominating victory was highlighted by the Mustangs making history in tying an NCAA record by going a blistering 11-11 from 3-point range in the first half. The performance ties the record held by both Niagara and Eastern Kentucky that were both set in 1987.

Kyle Odister scored a season-high 14 points including 4-5 from 3-point range. Photo by Owen Main

The Mustangs (12-8, 3-4 in the Big West), came out in the second half holding a 33-point lead, needing to make their first 3-point attempt in order to go down in NCAA history. Amaurys Fermin fired from the top of the key in the first minute of the second half only to have it bounce off the iron. Streak over.

Fermin’s miss however didn’t deflate the intensity of the Mustangs, as they scored 43 second-half points to complete their largest margin of victory under Coach Joe Callero’s tenure. The Mustangs also eclipsed the century mark for the first time since Feb. 20, 2010, when the Mustangs defeated Hawaii, 102-89, in an ESPN Bracket-Buster game.

The Mustangs finished the game shooting 60.7 percent from the field, and posted a program record 71.4 3-point field goal percentage on 15 of 21 shooting from behind the arc.

Cal Poly will try to carry this momentum into this week’s games, as they travel to Pacific tomorrow and UC Davis Saturday night. Pacific and Davis are currently 7th and 9th in the conference respectively. The Mustangs are currently in 5th place in the conference.

Musty! Photo by Owen Main

An Elite Big West Team?

If they want to be an elite conference team, winning games on the road against teams you are ahead of in the standings is imperative. This is something that the Mustangs are more than capable of doing, as sweeping the Northern California trip could go a long way in the confidence column for this group.

Cal Poly then travels to Fullerton and Bakersfield the following week, two more extremely-winnable games. If the Mustangs can take the next step as a program and win all four of these games on the road against teams they are simply better than, I see them carrying the momentum into the tail-end of the conference schedule and then into the conference tournament. Then, who knows?

Bottom line – after the showing the Mustangs had Saturday night against Northridge, this squad has showed that they have elite potential. It is palpable and seems to just be waiting to break out. They look like a program that is ready to take the next step in the process.

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Chris Eversley scored a career-high 19 points and matched a career high with 9 rebounds in the game:

Kyle Odister scored a season-high 14 points including 4-5 from 3-point range

Coach Joe Callero discussed the game, the upcoming road trip, and joked about the “extra shooting practice” his guys had got in the day before. Some interesting comments from the coach about golf as well.

Pictures from Saturday night’s game. All Photos by Owen Main

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Trackbacks

1. Blue Green Rivalry running blog Jan 19, 2013 - Fansmanship says:

   01/19/2013 at 4:00 pm

   […] that one team comes out flat because of it and runs and hides. It happened last year when Cal Poly put up 100 on Cal State […]