UC Davis take out Cal Poly on senior night at Mott

Try as they might, Michael Bolden and co. just could not cut into UC Davis’ double-digit lead in the second half. By Owen Main

It was the last home game for four seniors on the Cal Poly roster, but front-running UC Davis showed zero concern, beating Cal Poly 66-56 in the Mustangs penultimate regular season game of the year.

With the win and a UC Irvine loss in Santa Barbara, the Aggies’ magic number to win the regular season Big West title stands at 1 with two games to play. After losing to both UC Irvine and UC Davis, Cal Poly seems set to play one of them or UCSB in the first round of the conference tournament.

Shipley continues hot shooting

Sophomore Ridge Shipley continued his torrid pace on Saturday night. Shipley hit two early three-pointers and had eight points quickly en route to 16 for the game. Shipley’s skill set and confidence are things that Joe Callero always likes. When the shot clock winds down, it’s nice to have a point guard like Shipley, who can get his own shot and who the team can have confidence in.

Cal Poly fans remember Callero point guards Lorenzo Keeler and Amaurys Fermin, who could both get their own shot virtually any time at the end of shot clocks. Shipley is turning into that kind of player, and he’s only a sophomore.

Right where they want em?

Similarities to last season abound for this team.

Last season, their conference record was 6-10. This year, they are 6-9 going into their final game in Isla Vista against the Big West’s third-place team.

Last season, the team lost on senior night in a game that seemed somewhat disheartening.

Last year, Cal Poly ended up with the seventh seed in the Big West Conference Tournament. This year, that’s exactly where they’re lined-up going into the final game of the year.

You get the idea.

One thing that may be going against Cal Poly is a sort of raw, positive emotional leader. For all the great scoring and rebounding the Mustangs got from Chris Eversley last season, his most important contribution may have been his relentless positivity and vocal leadership on the court. His vocal outbursts seemed to always come when Cal Poly needed a pick-me-up, and was a major part of the emotional stamina the team exhibited. I’m not sure who is going to bring that if Cal Poly is to match the final, and most important part of their 2014-15 season.

Going for them? Well, David Nwaba is back in the rotation. He’ll get a chance to practice this week and get his feet under him. The team will also get a full week of rest prior to next Saturday’s game against UCSB. Cal Poly fans and coaches will hope a few days’ rest can give a weary team a big boost this time of year.

Saturday’s game at the Thunderdome will start at 3:00 pm and will be televised on Fox Sports Prime Ticket.

With a Cal Poly win and losses this week by Hawai’i and UC Riverside, Cal Poly could vault into the five-seed for the Big West Tournament. The top four teams are currently UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, and Long Beach State.

Photos by Owen Main