Cal Poly men’s basketball rallies in second half to beat Cal State Dominguez Hills
Junior forward Josh Martin led five Cal Poly players in double figures and the Mustangs rallied from a 16-point deficit en route to a 75-64 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills in a nonconference men’s basketball game Thursday night at Mott Athletics Center.
Martin reached double-digit scoring for the third straight game with 16 points, to go with six rebounds and a career-high six assists in 35 minutes. Donovan Fields came off the bench to score 15 points, and reserve guard Victor Joseph add 13 points in Cal Poly’s first win of the season.
Fields and Joseph scored 24 of their combined points in the second half, helping the Mustangs pull away over the final nine minutes.
“There wasn’t a ton of strategic adjustments,” eighth-year head coach Joe Callero said of the early deficit. “There was actually one of those things called, coach needs to show some poise and patience to make the players show some poise and patience. I thought we were just so tight.”
How it happened:
Strong perimeter shooting allowed the Division II Toros to build a 16-point lead with six minutes left in the first half. They made six of their first nine attempts from behind the 3-point line to go ahead 34-18.
The hot shooting wouldn’t continue, however, as Cal State Dominguez Hills went a combined 3-for-18 from beyond the arc to close the game. Vincent Golson paced the visitors with a game-high 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Justin Sadler chipped in 12 points and five rebounds in the setback.
Cal Poly (1-2) used a 14-1 run to close out the first half to swing the momentum in its favor.
The Mustangs took their first lead when Joseph made a 3-pointer from the left wing with 8:47 remaining, and they were never seriously threatened the rest of the way.
Who stood out:
With starting point guard Jaylen Shead sidelined by an Achilles tendon injury, Fields and Joseph made the most of their extended playing time.
They were each held to one made field goal in the first half, but seemed more aggressive over the final 20 minutes. Fields, a sophomore transfer from Odessa College, made 5 of 8 shots from the field and did not commit a turnover in 30 minutes.
Joseph, a junior transfer from Chaffey College, went 4 of 7 and swiped two steals in the victory.
“Whatever it takes to win,” Fields said. “I’m ready to do it for this team.”
This story was originally published November 17, 2016 at 10:43 PM with the headline "Cal Poly men’s basketball rallies in second half to beat Cal State Dominguez Hills."