Cal Poly’s Men’s Basketball continues to struggle as they drop their 17th straight Big West game to the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos Thursday, Feb. 29 at the UCSB Thunderdome. This is their 35th straight game lost in the Big West Conference dating back to last season.
Shortly after the loss, Cal Poly Athletics announced that they will part ways with head coach John Smith after season’s end after Smith has totaled a cumulative 30-114 record in his five year tenure.
The Mustangs (4-25, 0-17) have not beaten the Gauchos (15-12, 8-9) since the 2017-18 season which marks their 14th straight loss against them. Since 2011 the Mustangs have a record of 4-28 against the Gauchos.
With 6:35 left in the game, the Mustangs trailed by 13 points. Despite the Mustangs going on a late fourth quarter run led by Kobe Sanders, who had 31 points, they lost the game 83-75.
The Gauchos, while only shooting 30% from three-point range, shot 55.1% from the field. The Mustangs shot 45.8% from the field and 36.4% from three, and still managed to get 10 more shots than their opponent.
The Mustangs kept the game close in the first half as Cal Poly trailed by three going into halftime. Although the game was at striking distance, the Gauchos were able to gain a 12 point lead with over four minutes left in the second half which killed the momentum the Mustangs were trying to bring.
The team overall has not been consistent throughout the season, especially when it comes to getting some additional scoring off the bench. Cal Poly junior Joel Armotrading had 10 points and 4 rebounds off the bench. Armotrading was the only player to score off the bench whereas the Gauchos had a total of 21 points combined between three players.
The Mustangs are last in offensive rating in the Big West Conference and were second to last dating back to last season. They are also the second worst defensive team in the conference.
Despite the loss, Sanders, who is third in scoring in the Big West, had his second straight game scoring over 30 points on the season. He shot 9-17 from the field, but only 2-8 from three.
Cal Poly will return for their final home game of the season on Saturday Mar. 2 to face CSU Bakersfield at 7 p.m. at Mott Athletics Center.