Cal Poly men’s basketball team looking to regroup following loss to UC Riverside
Sitting in the postgame press conference Thursday night, Cal Poly men’s basketball coach Joe Callero spoke at length about developing a killer instinct.
With an opportunity to even their conference record and move up in the Big West standings, the Mustangs let a 13-point first-half lead slip away en route to a 72-68 loss against UC Riverside inside Mott Athletics Center.
Losing for the eighth time in its last 11 games, Cal Poly now faces an uphill climb the rest of the way with an 8-11 overall record and a 2-4 mark against conference opponents.
What was particularly frustrating for Callero was, exactly one week earlier, the Mustangs gave up an 11-point lead in the final 10 minutes during a 76-74 loss at Cal State Northridge.
Seven of Cal Poly’s 11 losses this season have been decided by six points or fewer.
“You just cannot be satisfied,” Callero said. “Competing is an obsession; it’s a distortion. We’ve got to instill that. You can’t try to get competitive. You have to get it into your bloodstream and it never comes out.”
After leading for the better part of 35 minutes against the visiting Highlanders (12-11, 3-4 Big West), an unusual sequence late in the game proved to be the Mustangs undoing.
Leading 64-63 with 2:29 remaining, senior guard David Nwaba was given a dead ball technical foul for pushing a UC Riverside player after the whistle.
Highlanders’ senior Jaylen Bland, the third-leading scorer in the Big West at nearly 17 points per game, made both free throws and UC Riverside retained possession. Moments later, Bland made a 3-pointer from the top of the key, was fouled on the shot and converted the free throw for a six-point swing.
The Mustangs had a few chances to tie the score late, but they turned the ball over three times in the final 48 seconds.
“I should’ve kept my composure throughout the play,” said Nwaba, who finished the game with 16 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. “It’s just tough to get that call, but it was definitely my fault.”
Behind 21 points and eight rebounds from first-team all-conference forward Taylor Johns, the Highlanders secured their first win in San Luis Obispo since Callero took over as head coach in 2009.
Cal Poly’s Brian Bennett matched Johns with a game-high 21 points on 9-for-15 shooting. The senior forward continued to shine in his role coming off the bench — doing so for the eighth straight game — and recorded his 10th double-digit scoring effort of the season.
“I know what Taylor brings to the table every time we play Riverside,” Bennett said. “He’s a great player and I knew, just as a team, we all had to match their intensity. I think we did that pretty well. It just didn’t unfold our way.”
That’s kind of been the story of Cal Poly’s season to this point.
Callero said he is confident the Mustangs can regroup and beat any team in the conference if they string together a full 40-minute performance.
With a trip to UC Davis looming at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and conference leaders UC Irvine and Hawaii visiting Mott Athletics Center next week, that shift will need to happen sooner than later.
“The difference is so slight. That’s why I’m so hard on our guys,” Callero said. “Everything matters in practice. It’s not about just trying to do well. You have to do well, and you have to sustain at doing well.”
The Aggies (8-11, 3-3 Big West) have proven to be a thorn in the Mustangs’ side in recent years.
Cal Poly has lost to UC Davis four consecutive times, including last year’s 81-78 overtime defeat in Davis. Though the Aggies are balanced offensively with six players averaging more than eight points, they’re the lowest-scoring team in the Big West at 65.5 points per contest.
With three wins in its last four outings, UC Davis could move into sole possession of third place in the conference standings with a win against Cal Poly. A loss would send the Mustangs to 2-5 in conference and they would need to go 6-3 over the final nine games just to finish at .500.
“If you’ve watched us play this year,” Callero said, “it’s really not about our opponent.
“It’s all about us.”
This story was originally published January 29, 2016 at 1:28 PM with the headline "Cal Poly men’s basketball team looking to regroup following loss to UC Riverside."