Donovan Fields is one of the most joyous basketball players I’ve ever covered. His smile on the court was always infectious while at Cal Poly. Along with some friends from his hometown of Newburgh, NY, Fields has started a podcast. We talked about Donovan’s journey to Division I basketball and his impressions of Cal Poly and San Luis Obispo. 

With the clock expiring in overtime, Cal Poly forward Mark Crowe banked in a three-pointer and the Mustangs beat Bethune-Cookman on Saturday night in Mott Athletics Center. After scrapping back from a late multi-possession deficit in regulation and once again in overtime, it was a finish fitting of the somewhat frantic game it was. Donovan Fields led all scorers with 28 points. Marcellus Garrick finished with 13 points and Crowe’s game-winning three pointer gave him 10 points on the night.

The game on Saturday was the Mustangs’ only game over a two-week span (Dead Week and Finals Week are to thank for that), but we did get to see some improvement in-person for the Mustangs.

Bethune-Cookman beat the Mustangs last season and won what is probably the weakest conference in all of Division I college basketball. Still, they took the Mustangs to the wire in a game that was really fun to watch. The win moves Cal Poly’s record to 3-5 on the young season. 

Find the box score from the game here. 

Chef Don

With 28 points on Saturday, Donovan Fields earned his first Big West Conference Player of the Week award.

Donovan Fields was flat-out cooking early in the game. The senior point guard from Newburgh, NY showed off from three point range, mid range, and off the dribble inside. For his 28-point performance, Fields earned himself the Big West Athlete of the Week award. The last Mustang to earn that was Victor Joseph last season.

Fittingly, Joseph was in the crowd on Saturday night with Fields and fellow senior Marcellus Garrick verbally engaging him throughout the game, resulting in a number of wide grins for all parties.

The win was Cal Poly’s third overall this season. 

The Crowe

Cal Poly hosted Bethune-Cookman at Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo, CA 12/8/18

Mark Crowe has been developing steadily since his redshirt freshman season last year. In 2017-18, the Texas native scored just over 2 points per game and shot 25 percent from three-point range. With some work in the offseason, Crowe has been a much bigger contributor so far this year, averaging nearly 11 points per game (good for second on the team) while shooting 47 percent from deep.

Crowe’s versatility on the defensive end paired with improved shooting have earned him the second most minutes on this year’s Mustang roster, one that is probably as set in its rotation and roles as it has been at this time during any of the past few seasons.  

Who’s getting better?

A team picked in the preseason to finish eighth out of nine teams in the preseason, the question I’m always asking is, “Who is making little improvements game-to-game?”

Two players I noticed who finally seem confident and totally engaged are freshmen Daxton Carr and Junior Ballard. Ballard made his first three-pointer at home and Carr’s energetic dunk in the first half helped keep the Mustangs out in front. Freshman Tuukka Jaakkola has also shown some improvement in video streams that have been available. All three will need to be real contributors for Cal Poly to play the way they want to on both ends come conference play. 

The Road Ahead

After taking finals this week, Cal Poly will head to Haas Pavillion in Berkeley to take on Cal on Saturday, followed by a quick trip to Bakersfield next Tuesday to play future conference opponent CSU Bakersfield. The next home game will be the Saturday before Christmas, when the Mustangs host UTA. The Mavericks, who beat Cal Poly easily 77-56 last season are just 3-6 this year. 

Photos by Owen Main. For more photos, visit photos.fansmanship.com . 

Victor Joseph was really good last Thursday. By Owen Main

With their win over CSUN and the happenings in the Big West over the weekend, Cal Poly is now guaranteed a spot in the Big West Conference Tournament. Whether they’re a 7 or 8 seed is still to be determined, but we know some things already. 

Twice as nice

Having already played a triple-overtime game and an overtime game at Mott this season, the Mustangs bridged the gap and played a double overtime thriller against CSUN in their only game last week. Victor Joseph scored a career-high 36 points in the senior night win. 

Fellow senior Aleks Abrams grabbed 18 big rebounds for the Mustangs, who notched their fourth conference win of the season. 

The game looked like it was Cal Poly’s to take until CSUN forced some turnovers in the second half and got themselves a four-point lead late in the game. But three pointers by Joseph and some clutch play down the stretch allowed Cal Poly to emerge victorious.

Cal Poly isn’t likely to play late on Thursday

Thursday is SO much fun at the Big West Tournament. Four games in a row at the Honda Center. Usually the late games feature local teams, so if Cal Poly earns the 7 or 8 seed and plays UC Davis or even UCSB, they’re likely to play in the noon game. If they play UC Irvine, the Mustangs could play in game 2 or 3 — probably not the late game. 

Lucky number 7?

The last four seasons, Cal Poly has finished in 7th place in the regular season. The first of those years, the Mustangs went 6-10 in Big West play and ran through the tournament en route to an NCAA Tournament bid. In fact, three of the past four seasons have seen the Mustangs notch a 6-10 Big West record. The outlier, 2015-16, saw Cal Poly earn their 7-seed with a 4-12 record. If they beat UC Riverside on Thursday, Cal Poly will be assured the seventh seed for the fifth season in a row. 

What’s next?

I’m probably getting ahead of myself with the conference tournament talk, but Cal Poly plays two games this week. The first game will be at UC Riverside on Thursday night at 7pm. After their coach was fired and their best player was suspended to start conference play, the Highlanders have tried to right the ship. Dikymbe Martin, one of the best guards in the conference, is back and the Highlanders have gone 3-3 over their last six games and hope to secure their own Big West Tournament spot with a win. 

After the Riverside game, Cal Poly will finish their conference regular season like they started it — against rival UCSB. This time, the game will be in Goleta and you know the Gauchos will be looking for blood after the Mustangs knocked them off at home in the conference opener in SLO. Game time Saturday night is also 7:00pm on UCSB’s senior night. 

Joseph earns Athlete of the Week

For his senior night exploits, Victor Joseph earned Big West Athlete of the Week last week. It’s more difficult to win that award when you only play one game in the week, but 36 points is a strong statement. 

Women heating up

Cal Poly women’s team is also heating up. Faith Mimnaugh’s squad has been squarely in the second tier of the Big West this year (UC Davis is on a tier of their own at 13-1 in Big West play). Going into the final week of Big West play, Cal Poly has a 1/2 game lead over UC Irvine and UCSB for second place. Cal Poly has just one game in their final week and it’s a tough one — Saturday night at Hawai’i. 

In the women’s bracket, the seedings matter quite a lot. The top two teams receive byes into the semi-finals of the tournament, while the third and fourth seeds (of nine) receive a bye into the quarterfinals. Winning their final game and finding a way to get into second place means that Cal Poly wouldn’t play a tournament game until Friday in the semi-finals in the Honda Center. 

If Irvine beats CSUN this week and win out, I think they’d have the inside track in a tiebreaker over UCSB and Cal Poly for second place. If they lose to CSUN, then Cal Poly and UCSB might be up for a tiebreaker. It’d be a messy tiebreaker. Let’s see how the early part of this week goes before we jump to conclusions. 

At any rate, the women’s hoops seniors are coming down the home stretch of their careers. Dynn and Lynn are going to go down in the Cal Poly record books when it’s all said and done and when this team is rolling, they have a legitimate shot against anyone in the Big West. 

Lynn’s AOTW

Lynn Leaupepe joined Victor Joseph on the men’s side to sweep the Big West’s Athlete of the Week awards in basketball. Her games of 16/14 and 18/14 helped Cal Poly into second place in the standings going into the final week. After being injured early in conference play, it seems Lynn has rounded back into form. That has to be a scary sight for Big West opponents. 

Photos by Owen Main

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

After winning two home games a few weeks ago, Cal Poly men’s basketball has dropped four straight games and find themselves in the middle of a three team battle for the final two seeds in the Big West Tournament. 

On Saturday, the Mustangs (3-10 in Big West play) lost 75-58 loss to UC Irvine. Now, they find themselves in a de-facto 8th place. In reality, the Mustangs are tied for 7th with CSUN, but the Matadors beat Cal Poly in Northridge earlier this season, giving them the current tiebreaker over the ‘stangs. In 9th place, just one game behind Cal Poly and CSUN, lies UC Riverside. After losing their first seven conference games, the Highlanders have won two of their last four to get within striking distance.

All three teams will play each other once over the final two weeks of the regular season. For what it’s worth, Cal Poly’s win over UCSB could be an ace in the hole. After head-to-head records (they are 1-0 vs. UCR and 0-1 vs. CSUN), the next tiebreaker is how they did against the teams that finished at the top. Cal Poly’s conference-opening win against UCSB (currently the top team in the Big West) could give them a slight advantage if they split a season series with a team they’re tied with at the end. 

Down early

After getting down early on Thursday night, Cal Poly head coach Joe Callero talked candidly about how they need to play better early in the game. Less than 10 minutes into the next game, Cal Poly was down by 20. 

As they’ve done most of the year, Cal Poly went on a few runs and battled-back, but getting yourself in a 10-20 point deficit on a nightly basis is clearly something that’s frustrated Callero.

Hitting the glass

Grit and toughness were concepts he alluded to in the post-game press conference. Cal Poly was out-rebounded by UCI 43-22, including a 10-2 advantage on the offensive glass in the first half. UCI is one of the best rebounding teams in the nation, but to get beat in a way that the other team gets nearly twice as many rebounds is illustrative of the night the Mustangs had Saturday. 

Long Ball

Cal Poly’s three point shooting isn’t directly correlated with their success, but it can be some kind of bell-weather. The Mustangs shot 17-55 this past weekend. That’s just a little under 31 percent. To get wins against teams like UCI and UC Davis over the last few weeks of conference play, that number will have to be closer to 40 percent.

Coming up

Cal Poly hosts CSUN on Thursday night in a game that could go a long way to determining who goes to the Big West Tournament. 

Photos by Owen Main.

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

For the first time since 2015, Cal Poly won a pair of weekend home games in Big West play.*

For a team that was 1-6 in Big West play and had lost six straight games coming into the weekend, the pair of wins were just what was needed. 

Sizzling from 3

Cal Poly was red-hot from three point range this weekend. The Mustangs shot 11-16 on Saturday including 5-5, while making their first eight triples. On Wednesday against UC Riverside, Cal Poly was 11-21 from deep. That’s 22-37 on the weekend. In case you’re wondering, that’s an average of 59.5 percent and yes, that will get the job done. Something even close to 40-45 percent will get the job done for a Cal Poly team that depends on penetration and good three-point looks for its offense to be successful. 

We know Donovan Fields and Victor Joseph are good outside shooters, but for their part, Kuba Niziol shot confidently (7-15 from downtown) and so did Luke Meikle (3-5). 

Listen, a pessimist might say that Cal Poly couldn’t possibly shoot over 50% from deep in a three-games-in-three-days scenario, but they just did it in two straight games and, if you’re attached to the Mustangs, you would probably ask why the hell not?

Clear it out for Don

Cal Poly guard Donovan Fields gets to the basket against a Hawai’i defender on Saturday night. By Owen Main

Donovan Fields continues to prove he can get to the bucket and score against just about anybody. After nailing a go-ahead jumper on Wednesday night against UC Riverside, Fields got to the basket for a late left handed and-one play that helped seal the game. Fields turned, yelled, and flexed to the crowd, a grin spreading across the diminutive guard’s face. 

All smiles

Fields’ smile wasn’t the only display of pearly whites either. Looking at photos from throughout the game, it was clear that the Mustangs were engaged and taking joy in execution. Maybe it’s easier to smile when you’re winning, but the Saturday night Mustangs’ team had their highest score on the Official Fansmanship Body-Language Test of the season, coming in at 94/100.

For what it’s worth, the Chris Eversley-led Mustangs had the all time best Fansmanship Body-Language Test score of 96 when they stormed through the Big West Tournament. Smiling and being joyful isn’t the only measure of the FBLT, but it does account for a significant portion. (In case you’re wondering, the formula is still proprietary). Body language isn’t only a predictive measure or an outcome-based measure. For what it’s worth, both are factors. 

Matching-up

The return of Joe Callero’s matchup 2-3 zone could be a trump card down the stretch for Cal Poly. The calling card of Callero’s teams early-on in his Cal Poly career, the 2-3 zone has been something the Mustangs have moved away from over the past few years. The reasons are probably many. Personnel. Pace of play initiatives and new rules. A shorter shot clock.

But the ability to stymie a team like Hawai’i who struggles down the roster making three-pointers is something Cal Poly could use more and more, especially against other like teams. In the Big West, there are a few teams who would rather not shoot tons of three-pointers. Callero and co. might have something they can use against those squads in the second half of Big West play and into the tournament. 

Don’t think Dedrique Taylor and Dan Monson aren’t pulling out tapes from 2013 and 2014 to break-down some Callero matchup zones of yesteryear.

Deja vú all over again

Cal Poly now sits in a familiar place in the standings — seventh place (3-6 in Big West play). It’s the place the Mustangs have finished in the Big West for each of the past four seasons. The first of those four, the number seven was lucky indeed as Callero’s team went to the NCAA Tournament. Since then, Cal Poly has not fared as well, bowing out to the 2nd seed in each of the past three Big West Tournaments. With the win on Saturday, Cal Poly put themselves a full game up on CSUN and 2 1/2 games ahead of 0-8 (and 9th place) UC Riverside. 

Cracking the top-six may be tougher than getting into 7th place. Cal Poly is still 1 1/2 games behind sixth place Hawai’i (4-4) and two games back of Cal State Fullerton (6-4). Cal Poly will play the Titans in Orange County on Thursday night (ESPN3, 7:00pm) before traveling to Long Beach State on Saturday evening (FSW, 8:00pm). 

A win or two on the road — especially Thursday against Cal State Fullerton — could put the Mustangs in a position to take advantage of three straight home games after that and maybe get into the top-six. A pair of losses makes 6th place a lot harder to fathom, though anything could happen in this year’s edition of the Wild West.

* Cal Poly has had 7 weekends since they’re weekend sweep in 2015 where they’ve hosted two games in a row at home.

Photos by Owen Main.

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

It was almost Mott Magic for the second time in three days. Almost.

After erasing a 10-point Cal State Fullerton lead with 2:39 to play in the game, Cal Poly looked like they had all the momentum they needed to get out of the weekend with a pair of improbable home victories. 

But the Titans’ Kyle Allman Jr. took control. The junior guard altered a shot late and finished the game with 30 points to lead Cal State Fullerton to a 101-97 win. Fullerton is now 2-0 in conference play while Cal Poly falls to 1-1. 

Victor Joseph’s hot shooting spurred the Mustangs on Saturday night. By Owen Main

Victor Joseph heats up

After a slow start to the season, senior Victor Joseph has warmed over the past month or so. As Cal Poly clawed back into Saturday night’s game, Joseph was the catalyst, scoring 25 of his 33 points in the second half and overtime. Joseph was 11-19 from the field on the night, including 7-12 from three-point range. In all, Cal Poly made 19 three-pointers (the program and Big West record is 21). but Cal Poly shot just 12/34 from two-point range (35 percent) and had no answer for Fullerton’s Big 3. 

Fullerton rising

Between Kyle Allman Jr., Jackson Rowe, and Khalil Ahmad, it’s hard to know who to focus on if you’re playing defense against the Titans. 

Allma (30 points, 9 rebounds), who was the week’s Big West Player of the Week, has a quickness usually only seen from guys as small as Donovan Fields and Victor Joseph, and his explosiveness around the rim allows him to draw contact and finish. 

Jackson Rowe (24 points, 12 rebounds), last year’s Freshman of the Year in the Big West, has developed enough of a three-pointer to keep teams honest and was as effective an offensive rebounder as I’ve seen against Cal Poly this season. 

As for Ahmad, he had an off night on Saturday, scoring “just” 13 points while fouling out. He is dangerous though. He’ll win at least a game or two for the Titans singlehandedly this season as teams focus on shutting down Allman and Rowe. 

Cal State Fullerton is for real. They have enough balance and are finally disciplined enough on defense across the roster to compete the way head coach Dedrique Taylor wants them to. 

Hank sets a record

Hank Hollingsworth set a Cal Poly program record with seven blocks on Saturday night. What’s more amazing is that he did so in just 14 minutes of action. With Cal State Fullerton going small late, Joe Callero chose to keep Hank out of the lineup late in the game and into overtime in order to match-up. 

Cal Poly hits the road to play Hawai’i on Wednesday night before visiting UC Irvine and CSUN for consecutive ESPN3 contests on January 18th and 20th. 

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

A lot can happen in one second. 

On Thursday night in a crowded-for-the-students-not-being-there Mott Athletics Center, Cal Poly overcame a 21-point first half deficit and a two-point deficit with one second to play to beat rival UCSB 80-79 in their Big West Conference opener. 

With fifteen seconds to play, Cal Poly’s Donovan Fields scored on a knifing left-handed layup to tie the game at 77. On the ensuing posession, UCSB’s Max Heidegger canned a long jumper to put the Gauchos up by two points with just a second left. 

The Gauchos celebrated. UCSB’s Jalen Canty gave a “shhh” signal to the Cal Poly fans. It was Orlando Johnson and James Nunnally all over again. Or so it seemed. 

Luke Meikle made three big free throws with the game on the line. By Owen Main

After a Cal Poly timeout, Fields used a Marcellus Garrick screen on the man guarding the in-bounds pass, and threw a length-of-the-court pass to Luke Meikle, who hesitated before shooting. It was less than a second, but enough to get the desired result. Meikle’s hesitation got Canty in the air. Canty bumped Meikle as he shot the ball and time expired. After a lengthy review, the officials determined that Meikle was fouled before time expired and awarded the fifth-year senior three free throws. Meikle made all three, sealing Cal Poly’s unlikely Blue-Green Rivalry victory. 

The win over the potential conference favorites moves Cal Poly to 1-0 in Big West play and dropped the Gauchos to 0-1. 

Blue start

I’m like 300-plus words in and I haven’t talked about the start. It was ugly for the home team. UCSB started the game up 23-2 and 27-6 with 11:09 left in the first half. Gabe Vincent couldn’t miss. Gaucho big men were getting to the line. Cal Poly was turning the ball over and getting really bad looks at the basket.

Joe Callero tried everything for about five minutes. He put Mark Crowe in the game and tried a 1-3-1 defense. Heidegger drained a three-pointer. He put Karlis Garoza in. Players rotated in and out like crazy, and it was hard to get traction. Trevor John came in and made a three-pointer. Things started to look up. Donovan Fields and Victor Joseph started to push the ball and not worry about running half-court offense. 

UCSB missed a few shots and the Mustangs inched closer. A single digit deficit at halftime would have been a huge win for Cal Poly. But the Mustangs did better than that, cutting the lead to four points at the break. less than a minute into the second half, Cal Poly tied the game. 

Second half rock fight

The second half went something like this. Cal Poly had no answer for Jalen Canty. The sophomore had just four points in the first half, but managed 17 in the second. UCSB had no answer for Donovan Fields. Fields played a great floor game with 22 points, 6 assists, and no turnovers.

Back and forth they went — the lead changed thirteen times in the final half, and twice in the final second of the game. 

Green Finish

Cal Poly doesn’t usually win these kinds of gams. I can remember distinctly a UC Irvine player open in the corner for a pass from Mamadou Ndiaye at the buzzer, a James Nunnally buzzer beater, and an Orlando Johnson shot that bounced off the rim, hit the moon, and barely touched the net as it went in at the buzzer. 

For once, Cal Poly found a way to win a game like this. It’s safe to say that this is a game fans will be talking about for a long time. 

Cal Poly hosts Cal State Fullerton at Mott Athletics Center on Saturday night. Tip-off is 7:00pm.

Photos by Owen Main

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

Here are five questions I’m wondering as Big West Conference play gets started this week:

How did pre-conference season go?

Well, it went all right. Not great. There were a few good wins. Cal Poly got some victories away from Mott when they beat Santa Clara and College of Charleston to kick off the Great Alaska Shootout. They also beat Pepperdine at home. While they scrapped and made it close at Cal, the Mustangs didn’t really give themselves much of a chance to win in five of six games against top-100 opponents.

One reason is they had a hard time stopping opponents’ three-point shooting. While their two-point defense isn’t bad, the Mustangs have struggled to stop opponents from behind the arc this season. Maybe that’s an understatement. Let’s put it this way – there is only one other team in Division I college basketball whose opponents are shooting a higher percentage from three point range than teams than Cal Poly (Division I opponents only). UCSB is 34th in the country in three-point shooting percentage. 

The one game that got away is definitely Bethune-Cookman, where they almost certainly should have won. That’s one that everybody would probably like to have back. (They’ll get it back when Bethune-Cookman returns the trip). The Central Michigan game, when they scored 53 points and only lost by three. That’s another one they’d like back. So, yeah. They maybe could have won two or three more games. 

If they play exactly like they did in the first half, they’ll be a bottom-four Big West team in the regular season. 

Consistent scoring?

Early-on it seemed Joe Callero’s team had a rhythm between Donovan Fields, Victor Joseph, and Marcellus Garrick on the perimeter. After the Great Alaska Shootout, the team had a three-point percentage above 40 percent and looked like they’d be able to shoot their way into a lot of games. 

Things have fallen off though. In their past four games against Division I opponents, Cal Poly averaged just a hair over 58 points per game. They’ll have to do better than that in conference play if they want to compete night-in and night-out. Unless Callero somehow brings back the 2-3 matchup zone. Then 58 might be plenty… . 

Sharpshooters or nah?

Cal Poly’s shooting is a huge key for them. It’s a key for everyone really, but how much are the Mustangs playing in synch and in rhythm offensively has a lot to do with who’s getting good shots and whether they’re taking advantage of the good looks they get. 

Joe Callero will point to guards Victor Joseph (20) and Donovan Fields (3) to help get Cal Poly off to a positive start this week at home. By Owen Main

This is a streaky and sometimes mercurial Mustang squad. Their ability to stay engaged offensively for a full 40 minutes and avoid major shooting slumps within games could be the difference in staying with some of the best Big West teams. 

What role will Marcellus Garrick have in Big West play?

The Hancock College transfer started the season with hot shooting and high-scoring games. Sure, teams have gotten a scouting report on Garrick, but I don’t believe we’ve seen his entire offensive game. Garrick has moves off the dribble as more of a slasher than he’s shown through much of the season so far. Look for him to attack defenders who overplay him and think of him as a spot-up shooter because of his hot shooting early in the season. 

When Garrick is getting to the free throw line and displaying his athleticism knifing to the basket, he’s at his best. 

Bonus: Health

Joe Callero always says health is a major factor. Cal Poly has enough rotation players to withstand some injuries, but that doesn’t mean that health won’t play a factor in how this team fares.

Bonus #2: Big Hank coming into his own

Hank Hollingsworth has turned himself into a regular rotation player and interior defensive stalwart for Cal Poly. The redshirt sophomore continues to develop on both ends of the court. Consistent contributions from Hollingsworth will give Cal Poly a shot to win games in Big West play. 

Cal Poly starts their conference schedule on Thursday night at home vs. UCSB and hosts Cal State Fullerton on Saturday evening. Both games tip at 7:00pm. 

Photos from Cal Poly vs. Notre Dame de Namur by Owen Main. 

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

Owen and Nick talk some Cal Poly and Big West Men’s basketball. After Cal Poly lost to Fresno State and Bethune-Cookman, what should fans expect this Saturday at Princeton? Also discussed are Josh Martin’s return, Cal Poly’s offensive flow, Cal Poly’s three-point shooting, and how the Big West has stacked-up against other conferences. 

Lastly, which of Owen’s preseason picks for the Big West are looking good and which look really awful (hint: UCSB). 

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.