Cal Poly’s team drops first three Big West games: ‘It will take patience’
Cal Poly’s men’s basketball had hoped for a better start to their season after a last place finish in the Big West Conference in 2019-2020.
But the Mustangs will have to claw their way to a first win in the Big West Conference after dropping their first three conference games.
After leading at halftime 37-36 on Friday against UC Riverside, Cal Poly (2-7, 0-3 Big West Conference) let the second half get away from them as the Highlanders (5-3, 2-1) cruised to an 86-51 victory inside Mott Athletics Center.
The contest was Cal Poly’s conference home opener. Because of COVID-19 precautions, the Mustangs are playing without fans. The Mustangs will face the Highlanders Saturday at home again at 4 p.m.
Coach John Smith, in his second year at Cal Poly, said he has faith in his team, but fans will “just have to have patience,” as the program develops many younger players and learns to play consistent basketball.
The Mustangs dropped their first two conference contests to CSU Bakersfield, losing 62-49 on Jan. 8 and 67-50 on Jan. 9.
“We played to be able to put together two consistent halves of basketball,” Smith said. “We had one tonight, but not two. And that has been the case all season.”
Mustangs get hot start from Koroma
The Mustangs were led Friday by sophomore Alimamy Koroma, a 6-8 forward from Sierra Leone, who tallied 15 points and eight rebounds, getting the Mustangs off to a hot start by scoring the team’s first 11 points Friday, including knocking down three 3-pointers.
“Ali is very talented offensively,” Smith said. “He kept his energy in the first half, but when his shots didn’t fall in the second half, the sense of urgency dropped on defense and that has to stay high.”
Koroma suffered a shoulder injury early in the second half, a recurring theme for him during his Cal Poly career.
“He was fighting for the ball with a Riverside player and it popped out,” Koroma said. “That has happened multiple times to him over the past two years here.”
Koroma returned to the game, but UC Riverside used their 16-2 run to take a 52-39 second half advantage.
Senior guard Mark Crowe, a 6-foot-5 guard from Dallas, added 10 points for the Mustangs, who shot 48.3 (14-for-29) percent during the first half, but just 12.9 (4-for-31) percent in the second, according to Cal Poly officials.
Point guard Keith Smith had four assists and two steals, setting up his teammates on numerous drive and dish passes.
Coach wants more tempo, defense
Coach John Smith, Keith’s uncle, said he wants his team to push the ball and score in transition, as well as play consistent defensive.
“Our identity is to push the ball and play with tempo, move the ball and take good shots, and you have to play D,” Smith said. “In order to win, you have to play defense with will.”
The Highlanders took advantage of several open looks on 3-pointers in the second half, making a close first half contest look ugly at the finish.
Wil Tattersall tallied 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting from behind the arc, showing a hot hand after a relatively slow first half.
Cal Poly’s coach said his team missed many good looks to start the second half.
“We had seven shots at point blank range that didn’t go down,” Smith said. “When that happens, you have to forget about it as quickly as possible.”
Smith said he expects the offense to run through Koroma and Colby Rogers, a 6-foot-5 sophomore guard, who had seven points Friday. Rogers is averaging 11 points on the season.
“They have the most offensive skill,” Smith said. “But if teams lock down on them, others guys will get open shots.”
Smith said “I’m optimistic about our team and it will just take patience.”
This story was originally published January 16, 2021 at 12:57 AM with the headline "Cal Poly’s team drops first three Big West games: ‘It will take patience’."
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