Men’s basketball faces Matadors
Cougars meet California State University, Northridge for fourth time ever, WSU leads all time series 3-0
BEN SCHUH | THE DAILY EVERGREEN
Junior power forward Isaiah Wade shoots a layup past Cal Poly sophomore wing Mark Crowe during the Cougars’ 84-70 win over the Mustangs on Nov. 19 in Beasley Coliseum.
November 27, 2018
The WSU men’s basketball team will host California State University, Northridge, at 8:00 p.m. Tuesday in Beasley Coliseum.
The Cougars (3-1) have won their last two games against California Polytechnic State University 84-70 and Delaware State University 80-52. The Matadors’ (1-3) last game was a win against Tennessee State University 80-77 last Tuesday.
In the game against Delaware State, the Cougars recorded 45 percent for field goals, 36.7 percent for three-pointers and 62.5 percent for free throws. WSU scored 14 points off turnovers, and its biggest lead was 32 points with 3:49 left to play in the game.
Senior forward Robert Franks recorded his second double-double of the season against Delaware State University with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Junior point guard Ahmed Ali was the second leading scorer for the team with 17 points.
Franks said his fellow teammates are starting to follow his leadership as the season continues.
“I give high praise to my teammates,” Franks said. “You know they have been very unselfish and once we play like that, man it’s a beautiful thing.”
In the game against Tennessee State, the Matadors scored 52.8 percent for field goals, 38.1 percent for three-pointers and 57.1 percent for free throws. They scored 16 points off turnovers and had a 20-point lead with 10:20 left to play in the game.
The win against Tennessee State was the first win under CSUN Head Coach Mark Gottfried. CSUN redshirt freshman forward Lamine Diane recorded his second-straight double-double with 29 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore guard Terrell Gomez hit five three pointers and scored a total of 22 points.
Moving forward in the season and always getting closer to Pac-12 play, Franks said the team needs to find a way to have better starts.
“It’s been a big issue of ours, starting games, it’s been the past couple of years,” Franks said. “We really have got to figure it out quick before Pac-12 play … the second half is the basketball team we have to be if we want to be successful moving forward.”
The Cougars will look to extend their win streak to three games when they face CSUN at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Beasley Coliseum. The game can be viewed on Pac-12 Networks.
