With five seconds remaining on the game clock and the Mustangs down 54-51, senior guard Kobe Sanders grabbed the rebound off a Cal State Fullerton free throw miss by Tony San Antonio. Sanders crossed to his left hand with San Antonio on his hip before stopping and rising up for a three-pointer that fell short.
Sanders turned around with his hands on his head. The 54-51 loss is the Mustangs’ eighth in a row. The team hasn’t won a single game since the start of last December.
The Mustangs (4-16, 0-8 Big West) held their opponent to 34% from the field, but couldn’t overcome head coach John Smith’s previous coaching stop, Cal State Fullerton (10-10, 3-5 Big West), on Saturday, Jan. 25 at Mott Athletic Center.
Sanders led the Mustangs with 14 points, seven assists and 5 rebounds in 35 minutes of play, making it 18 straight games where he has scored in double digits.
After trailing by 12 points with 9:09 to go in the second half, Cal Poly battled back and brought the Cal State Fullerton lead down to three with 36 seconds left. The Mustangs defense forced a shot clock violation for the Titans, allowing head coach John Smith to draw up a play for his star player.
Much of this game came down to which team could strike at the free throw line. Cal Poly shot 4-11 (45.5%), while Cal State Fullerton shot 12-18 (66.7%).
Neither team shot the ball well from behind the arc. Cal Poly shot 4-21 (19%) from three, and Cal State Fullerton shot 2-16 (12.5%) from deep.
Dominic Brewton led the Titans with 13 points and 8 rebounds. Beril Kabamba also was a key contributor for Cal State Fullerton, adding 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Mustangs received a spark from sophomore forward Aaron Price Jr. and graduate student Tuukka Jaakkola.
Price Jr. had one of his best performances of the season, with 10 points and 6 rebounds in 28 minutes of play. This was his third game of the season where he has scored in double digits.
“I know for me personally, I do better when I zoom out,” Price Jr. said. “The more I can zoom out and I can pour into my other teammates, the game comes to me more naturally. This allows me to focus on being the best me.”
As for graduate forward Tuukka Jaakkola from Helsinski, Finland, tonight marked his 125th career game as a Mustang. During this game, he had 11 points and 8 rebounds, shooting 5-7 from the field.
Smith commented on how his team fought till the end and how they can bring this energy into their next game against Hawaii.
“We just have to keep chopping wood, staying together, and we will get one of these.”
Cal Poly will fly out to Honolulu tomorrow morning with the hopes of finding their first conference win against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (10-9, 2-5 Big West) on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 9 p.m. PT.