Nwaba shines in Cal Poly’s 73-70 loss at Long Beach State
Cal Poly senior guard David Nwaba turned in one of the best statistical performances of his career Thursday night during a Big West Conference men’s basketball matchup at Long Beach State.
The 6-foot-4 Los Angeles native recorded the second double-double of his career, scoring 24 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in a 73-70 setback against the 49ers. Nwaba made eight of his 13 attempts from the field and added five assists to help the Mustangs put together a frantic comeback in the final minutes.
Cal Poly nearly came all the way back from a 17-point deficit with less than eight minutes remaining, but the Mustangs couldn’t quite overcome a sluggish first half offensively.
Senior guard Reese Morgan added 17 points on four 3-pointers, and true freshman Trevor John came off the bench to score a season-high nine points.
Nick Faust’s 21 points led Long Beach State (13-12, 7-3 Big West), which avenged a double-overtime loss to the Mustangs in mid-January.
Cal Poly dropped to 8-15 overall and 2-8 in the Big West following their fifth consecutive loss.
Next up for the Mustangs is a 7:30 p.m. contest Saturday at UC Riverside. When the Highlanders came to San Luis Obispo last month, they erased a 13-point first-half deficit en route to a 72-68 victory inside Mott Athletics Center.
Mustang softball loses season opener
The Cal Poly softball team opened its season with a 12-3 loss to No. 6-ranked Oregon in the first round of the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz.
The three-time defending Pac-12 champion Ducks pounded out 15 hits and scored in every inning expect the first and sixth.
Junior Sierra Hyland paced Cal Poly offensively, going 3-for-3 with a two-run double in the third and a solo home run in the fifth.
Senior Breana West’s single was the only other hit the Mustangs managed against Oregon All-American Cheridan Hawkins, who struck out 10 batters in the complete-game effort.
This story was originally published February 12, 2016 at 2:32 PM with the headline "Nwaba shines in Cal Poly’s 73-70 loss at Long Beach State."