Victor Joseph was really good last Thursday. By Owen Main

With their win over CSUN and the happenings in the Big West over the weekend, Cal Poly is now guaranteed a spot in the Big West Conference Tournament. Whether they’re a 7 or 8 seed is still to be determined, but we know some things already. 

Twice as nice

Having already played a triple-overtime game and an overtime game at Mott this season, the Mustangs bridged the gap and played a double overtime thriller against CSUN in their only game last week. Victor Joseph scored a career-high 36 points in the senior night win. 

Fellow senior Aleks Abrams grabbed 18 big rebounds for the Mustangs, who notched their fourth conference win of the season. 

The game looked like it was Cal Poly’s to take until CSUN forced some turnovers in the second half and got themselves a four-point lead late in the game. But three pointers by Joseph and some clutch play down the stretch allowed Cal Poly to emerge victorious.

Cal Poly isn’t likely to play late on Thursday

Thursday is SO much fun at the Big West Tournament. Four games in a row at the Honda Center. Usually the late games feature local teams, so if Cal Poly earns the 7 or 8 seed and plays UC Davis or even UCSB, they’re likely to play in the noon game. If they play UC Irvine, the Mustangs could play in game 2 or 3 — probably not the late game. 

Lucky number 7?

The last four seasons, Cal Poly has finished in 7th place in the regular season. The first of those years, the Mustangs went 6-10 in Big West play and ran through the tournament en route to an NCAA Tournament bid. In fact, three of the past four seasons have seen the Mustangs notch a 6-10 Big West record. The outlier, 2015-16, saw Cal Poly earn their 7-seed with a 4-12 record. If they beat UC Riverside on Thursday, Cal Poly will be assured the seventh seed for the fifth season in a row. 

What’s next?

I’m probably getting ahead of myself with the conference tournament talk, but Cal Poly plays two games this week. The first game will be at UC Riverside on Thursday night at 7pm. After their coach was fired and their best player was suspended to start conference play, the Highlanders have tried to right the ship. Dikymbe Martin, one of the best guards in the conference, is back and the Highlanders have gone 3-3 over their last six games and hope to secure their own Big West Tournament spot with a win. 

After the Riverside game, Cal Poly will finish their conference regular season like they started it — against rival UCSB. This time, the game will be in Goleta and you know the Gauchos will be looking for blood after the Mustangs knocked them off at home in the conference opener in SLO. Game time Saturday night is also 7:00pm on UCSB’s senior night. 

Joseph earns Athlete of the Week

For his senior night exploits, Victor Joseph earned Big West Athlete of the Week last week. It’s more difficult to win that award when you only play one game in the week, but 36 points is a strong statement. 

Women heating up

Cal Poly women’s team is also heating up. Faith Mimnaugh’s squad has been squarely in the second tier of the Big West this year (UC Davis is on a tier of their own at 13-1 in Big West play). Going into the final week of Big West play, Cal Poly has a 1/2 game lead over UC Irvine and UCSB for second place. Cal Poly has just one game in their final week and it’s a tough one — Saturday night at Hawai’i. 

In the women’s bracket, the seedings matter quite a lot. The top two teams receive byes into the semi-finals of the tournament, while the third and fourth seeds (of nine) receive a bye into the quarterfinals. Winning their final game and finding a way to get into second place means that Cal Poly wouldn’t play a tournament game until Friday in the semi-finals in the Honda Center. 

If Irvine beats CSUN this week and win out, I think they’d have the inside track in a tiebreaker over UCSB and Cal Poly for second place. If they lose to CSUN, then Cal Poly and UCSB might be up for a tiebreaker. It’d be a messy tiebreaker. Let’s see how the early part of this week goes before we jump to conclusions. 

At any rate, the women’s hoops seniors are coming down the home stretch of their careers. Dynn and Lynn are going to go down in the Cal Poly record books when it’s all said and done and when this team is rolling, they have a legitimate shot against anyone in the Big West. 

Lynn’s AOTW

Lynn Leaupepe joined Victor Joseph on the men’s side to sweep the Big West’s Athlete of the Week awards in basketball. Her games of 16/14 and 18/14 helped Cal Poly into second place in the standings going into the final week. After being injured early in conference play, it seems Lynn has rounded back into form. That has to be a scary sight for Big West opponents. 

Photos by Owen Main

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After winning two home games a few weeks ago, Cal Poly men’s basketball has dropped four straight games and find themselves in the middle of a three team battle for the final two seeds in the Big West Tournament. 

On Saturday, the Mustangs (3-10 in Big West play) lost 75-58 loss to UC Irvine. Now, they find themselves in a de-facto 8th place. In reality, the Mustangs are tied for 7th with CSUN, but the Matadors beat Cal Poly in Northridge earlier this season, giving them the current tiebreaker over the ‘stangs. In 9th place, just one game behind Cal Poly and CSUN, lies UC Riverside. After losing their first seven conference games, the Highlanders have won two of their last four to get within striking distance.

All three teams will play each other once over the final two weeks of the regular season. For what it’s worth, Cal Poly’s win over UCSB could be an ace in the hole. After head-to-head records (they are 1-0 vs. UCR and 0-1 vs. CSUN), the next tiebreaker is how they did against the teams that finished at the top. Cal Poly’s conference-opening win against UCSB (currently the top team in the Big West) could give them a slight advantage if they split a season series with a team they’re tied with at the end. 

Down early

After getting down early on Thursday night, Cal Poly head coach Joe Callero talked candidly about how they need to play better early in the game. Less than 10 minutes into the next game, Cal Poly was down by 20. 

As they’ve done most of the year, Cal Poly went on a few runs and battled-back, but getting yourself in a 10-20 point deficit on a nightly basis is clearly something that’s frustrated Callero.

Hitting the glass

Grit and toughness were concepts he alluded to in the post-game press conference. Cal Poly was out-rebounded by UCI 43-22, including a 10-2 advantage on the offensive glass in the first half. UCI is one of the best rebounding teams in the nation, but to get beat in a way that the other team gets nearly twice as many rebounds is illustrative of the night the Mustangs had Saturday. 

Long Ball

Cal Poly’s three point shooting isn’t directly correlated with their success, but it can be some kind of bell-weather. The Mustangs shot 17-55 this past weekend. That’s just a little under 31 percent. To get wins against teams like UCI and UC Davis over the last few weeks of conference play, that number will have to be closer to 40 percent.

Coming up

Cal Poly hosts CSUN on Thursday night in a game that could go a long way to determining who goes to the Big West Tournament. 

Photos by Owen Main.

For more photos click here. If you just want to contribute to the cause, Venmo @Owen-Main or paypal owen@fansmanship.com. 

In the longest game in their history in Division I, Cal Poly hung close with Big West rival UC Davis, but the Aggies scored 17 points in the third overtime period to pull away and win 92-84 on Thursday night at Mott Athletics Center.

The loss drops Cal Poly’s record in Conference play to 3-9, tied for 7th place, but just one game ahead of the 9th spot in the conference. With games against CSUN (next Thursday) and at UC Riverside (a week after that) on the horizon, Cal Poly nearly clawed out of the hole and vaulted themselves into sole posession of 7th place. Instead, the Mustangs were left wondering what happened. 

Cal Poly shouldn’t have been in the game at all. After failing to make a field goal for nearly eight minutes in the game, the Mustangs, miraculously, were only behind by nine points at halftime — a reasonable deficit for a team that only scored 18 points in the period. 

In the second half, Cal Poly seemed to have snatched the momentum. With 3:10 left in the game, Aleks Abrams made a layup to put Cal Poly up by five points. — their largest lead. Just 19 seconds later, UC Davis got Michael Onyebalu an open look from deep that he knocked down. After a missed shot, the Aggies’ Rogers Printup made another three. In two possessions, Cal Poly’s five point lead had turned into a one point deficit.

The triple overtime game was the first since the early 80’s for a program that moved to Division I in the 90’s. 

Clutch moments

There are bound to be tons of clutch moments in a triple overtime game. Down by two points with 11 seconds left, Siler Schneider made two free throws for UC Davis. The first two overtimes featured the two teams going a combined 10-10 from the free throw line. After another Onyebalu three pointer put Davis up by three points in the final minute of the second extra frame, Luke Meikle answered with an open triple with 36 seconds to go to effectively earn the third overtime. 

Third time’s a charm

After scoring just 11 points total in the first two overtimes, UC Davis exploded for 17 in the final period. Siler Schneider scored the first four points of the third OT. Schneider had 8 of his 16 points during the third OT. Onyebalu finished with a game-high 24 points on 5-7 from three point range for UC Davis.

No Chima, no problem

Still without the preseason player of the year favorite Chima Moneke, UC Davis was outrebounded 53-41 (17-9 on the offensive glass), but still managed to hold onto the win. One reason was the turnover disparity. Cal Poly committed 21 — three games’ worth just a few years ago — while UC Davis turned it over just 13 times. The Aggies also held a 27-12 advantage in points off turnovers. 

Mustang leaders

Luke Meikle led the Mustangs with 21 points. Victor Joseph shot just 2-7 from three point range, but managed 19 points and three assists. Donovan Fields, who was hobbled with foul trouble all night, shot just 1-8 from the field for 4 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Kuba Niziol came to play, shooting all 12 of his shots from distance and making five of them for 15 points and seven rebounds. 

Two unlikely sources of production and crunch time minutes were Aleks Abrams and Trevor John. Abrams came off the bench to notch his first career double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds). The junior from Oaks Christian High School also notched three blocks in the game. John made a two-pointer, 2-3 from deep, and a pair of free throws for 10 points. 

Davis D

UC Davis’ defense was pretty well-executed in this game. The Aggies worked hard for 55 minutes to deny Cal Poly passes. There were possessions late in the game after Fields fouled-out where the Mustangs had a difficult time moving the ball beyond their three point line. 

The proof is in the numbers too. Cal Poly shot just 34.7 percent from the field for the game and just 32.5 percent from two point range. 

No rest for the weary

Cal Poly will host UC Irvine (8-4, 13-15, second place) on Saturday night. The Anteaters will be stinging still from a low-scoring loss at Hawai’i. Cal Poly fans will hope that UCI is road-weary — there are no direct flights to SLO from Hawai’i. 

Cal Poly out-rebounded UC Davis on Thursday night, but UC Irvine is one of the best rebounding teams in the nation. Look for Cal Poly’s big-man play on Saturday. It could be the fulcrum of Cal Poly’s ability to leverage their way into another home conference win. 

Photos by Owen Main.

For more photos click here. If you just want to contribute to the cause, Venmo @Owen-Main or paypal owen@fansmanship.com. 

It was almost Mott Magic for the second time in three days. Almost.

After erasing a 10-point Cal State Fullerton lead with 2:39 to play in the game, Cal Poly looked like they had all the momentum they needed to get out of the weekend with a pair of improbable home victories. 

But the Titans’ Kyle Allman Jr. took control. The junior guard altered a shot late and finished the game with 30 points to lead Cal State Fullerton to a 101-97 win. Fullerton is now 2-0 in conference play while Cal Poly falls to 1-1. 

Victor Joseph’s hot shooting spurred the Mustangs on Saturday night. By Owen Main

Victor Joseph heats up

After a slow start to the season, senior Victor Joseph has warmed over the past month or so. As Cal Poly clawed back into Saturday night’s game, Joseph was the catalyst, scoring 25 of his 33 points in the second half and overtime. Joseph was 11-19 from the field on the night, including 7-12 from three-point range. In all, Cal Poly made 19 three-pointers (the program and Big West record is 21). but Cal Poly shot just 12/34 from two-point range (35 percent) and had no answer for Fullerton’s Big 3. 

Fullerton rising

Between Kyle Allman Jr., Jackson Rowe, and Khalil Ahmad, it’s hard to know who to focus on if you’re playing defense against the Titans. 

Allma (30 points, 9 rebounds), who was the week’s Big West Player of the Week, has a quickness usually only seen from guys as small as Donovan Fields and Victor Joseph, and his explosiveness around the rim allows him to draw contact and finish. 

Jackson Rowe (24 points, 12 rebounds), last year’s Freshman of the Year in the Big West, has developed enough of a three-pointer to keep teams honest and was as effective an offensive rebounder as I’ve seen against Cal Poly this season. 

As for Ahmad, he had an off night on Saturday, scoring “just” 13 points while fouling out. He is dangerous though. He’ll win at least a game or two for the Titans singlehandedly this season as teams focus on shutting down Allman and Rowe. 

Cal State Fullerton is for real. They have enough balance and are finally disciplined enough on defense across the roster to compete the way head coach Dedrique Taylor wants them to. 

Hank sets a record

Hank Hollingsworth set a Cal Poly program record with seven blocks on Saturday night. What’s more amazing is that he did so in just 14 minutes of action. With Cal State Fullerton going small late, Joe Callero chose to keep Hank out of the lineup late in the game and into overtime in order to match-up. 

Cal Poly hits the road to play Hawai’i on Wednesday night before visiting UC Irvine and CSUN for consecutive ESPN3 contests on January 18th and 20th. 

Photos by Owen Main. For more photos click here. If you just want to contribute to the cause, Venmo @Owen-Main or paypal owen@fansmanship.com. 

Here are five questions I’m wondering as Big West Conference play gets started this week:

How did pre-conference season go?

Well, it went all right. Not great. There were a few good wins. Cal Poly got some victories away from Mott when they beat Santa Clara and College of Charleston to kick off the Great Alaska Shootout. They also beat Pepperdine at home. While they scrapped and made it close at Cal, the Mustangs didn’t really give themselves much of a chance to win in five of six games against top-100 opponents.

One reason is they had a hard time stopping opponents’ three-point shooting. While their two-point defense isn’t bad, the Mustangs have struggled to stop opponents from behind the arc this season. Maybe that’s an understatement. Let’s put it this way – there is only one other team in Division I college basketball whose opponents are shooting a higher percentage from three point range than teams than Cal Poly (Division I opponents only). UCSB is 34th in the country in three-point shooting percentage. 

The one game that got away is definitely Bethune-Cookman, where they almost certainly should have won. That’s one that everybody would probably like to have back. (They’ll get it back when Bethune-Cookman returns the trip). The Central Michigan game, when they scored 53 points and only lost by three. That’s another one they’d like back. So, yeah. They maybe could have won two or three more games. 

If they play exactly like they did in the first half, they’ll be a bottom-four Big West team in the regular season. 

Consistent scoring?

Early-on it seemed Joe Callero’s team had a rhythm between Donovan Fields, Victor Joseph, and Marcellus Garrick on the perimeter. After the Great Alaska Shootout, the team had a three-point percentage above 40 percent and looked like they’d be able to shoot their way into a lot of games. 

Things have fallen off though. In their past four games against Division I opponents, Cal Poly averaged just a hair over 58 points per game. They’ll have to do better than that in conference play if they want to compete night-in and night-out. Unless Callero somehow brings back the 2-3 matchup zone. Then 58 might be plenty… . 

Sharpshooters or nah?

Cal Poly’s shooting is a huge key for them. It’s a key for everyone really, but how much are the Mustangs playing in synch and in rhythm offensively has a lot to do with who’s getting good shots and whether they’re taking advantage of the good looks they get. 

Joe Callero will point to guards Victor Joseph (20) and Donovan Fields (3) to help get Cal Poly off to a positive start this week at home. By Owen Main

This is a streaky and sometimes mercurial Mustang squad. Their ability to stay engaged offensively for a full 40 minutes and avoid major shooting slumps within games could be the difference in staying with some of the best Big West teams. 

What role will Marcellus Garrick have in Big West play?

The Hancock College transfer started the season with hot shooting and high-scoring games. Sure, teams have gotten a scouting report on Garrick, but I don’t believe we’ve seen his entire offensive game. Garrick has moves off the dribble as more of a slasher than he’s shown through much of the season so far. Look for him to attack defenders who overplay him and think of him as a spot-up shooter because of his hot shooting early in the season. 

When Garrick is getting to the free throw line and displaying his athleticism knifing to the basket, he’s at his best. 

Bonus: Health

Joe Callero always says health is a major factor. Cal Poly has enough rotation players to withstand some injuries, but that doesn’t mean that health won’t play a factor in how this team fares.

Bonus #2: Big Hank coming into his own

Hank Hollingsworth has turned himself into a regular rotation player and interior defensive stalwart for Cal Poly. The redshirt sophomore continues to develop on both ends of the court. Consistent contributions from Hollingsworth will give Cal Poly a shot to win games in Big West play. 

Cal Poly starts their conference schedule on Thursday night at home vs. UCSB and hosts Cal State Fullerton on Saturday evening. Both games tip at 7:00pm. 

Photos from Cal Poly vs. Notre Dame de Namur by Owen Main. 

For more photos click here. If you just want to contribute to the cause, Venmo @Owen-Main or paypal owen@fansmanship.com. 

Owen and Nick talk some Cal Poly and Big West Men’s basketball. After Cal Poly lost to Fresno State and Bethune-Cookman, what should fans expect this Saturday at Princeton? Also discussed are Josh Martin’s return, Cal Poly’s offensive flow, Cal Poly’s three-point shooting, and how the Big West has stacked-up against other conferences. 

Lastly, which of Owen’s preseason picks for the Big West are looking good and which look really awful (hint: UCSB). 

Thanksgiving is for winners.

On Wednesday, the Mustangs beat top-100 College of Charleston 73-68, putting them in the Great Alaska Shootout winner’s bracket. They’ll have Thanksgiving off before they play the winner of the Sam Houston State vs. Central Michigan game. 

The game was close throughout, though Cal Poly had a lead between two and seven points for most of the second half. Charleston took a one point lead late before Victor Joseph knocked down a three-pointer to give Cal Poly the lead for good. 

“Victor’s junior college coach mentioned that Vic was a gamer,” said Callero. “The more we watch and follow him, boy he is a gamer. He’s got cold water in his veins. The reality is he’s one cool customer.” 

Victor Joseph led Cal Poly with 20 points in their victory over College of Charleston. By Owen Main

Joseph led Cal Poly with 20 points — by far his best game of the young season. Donovan Fields shot 3-5 from three-point range en route to 17 points. Kuba Niziol was a perfect 5-5 from deep for 15 points and Luke Meikle made some clutch shots en route to 10 points. 

Fields dished six assists and Meikle led the team with six rebounds. 

For Callero’s team, the win was the best regular season win in recent memory. The Mustangs beat a very good Northeastern squad on December 17, 2014 in Santa Clara. Before that, the best regular season win for Cal Poly was probably the upset against UCLA on November 25, 2012 during their last winning season.

“I’m really really pleased with this victory,” said Callero, in his 9th season at Cal Poly, after the game. “The kicker for us really was our guys locked into our scouting report. We minimized the easy shots they get driving to the hoop. Our game plan was to make them shoot threes.” 

Callero was ecstatic about the team’s ability to stick to the game plan and execute throughout.

“I don’t recall a game in the last year or two where we played that sticky defense and rebounding,” said Callero.

On the ESPN Radio 1280 postgame, Callero said the team would have practice, stretching, treatment, and then would be able to have a relaxing Thanksgiving dinner together.

The Mustangs will play again Friday evening. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Find all Owen’s photos here. If you just want to contribute to the cause, Venmo @Owen-Main or paypal owen@fansmanship.com. 

Joe Callero’s Cal Poly men’s basketball team had their first official practice of the season on Friday afternoon. With six brand new faces to the program and two other players who didn’t really play at all last season, this team will go as far as it can
Roster construction

In terms of total number of players who can be solid contributors, this team looks a lot like the Mustangs of two years ago to me. There are probably 12 guys who could easily be in the top seven in the rotation. That could be really good for things like depth, withstanding injuries throughout the season, and competitive practices. Still, there are only five players on the court at any one time, and players who can separate themselves will be something fans can look for early in the season. 

New guys

Other than DeAndre Stallings not coming to campus, I outlined Cal Poly’s new guys here. One thing that struck me is the real length of Marcellus Garrick and Eric Toles. They are both listed at 6′ 4″, but they are well-sized for wings in the Big West Conference. When you have to go against longer wings like Khalil Ahmad and Jackson Rowe from Fullerton, CSUN’s Michael Warren and Kobe Paras, and others, it’s nice to have some depth to match-up with those guys. Here are a few thoughts about some of the new players, based on one day of practice:

• 

  Iziah James is a strong looking freshman. By Owen Main

  Iziah James (Freshman, Chesapeke, VA) — He’s slightly taller than Donovan Fields and Victor Joseph, but is built a little stronger. James seems to have a confident floor presence. Being a young point guard under Joe Callero can be tough. It will be interesting to see how James responds throughout the season. James’ social media accounts refer to him as ManMan, and I actually heard some guys calling him this in practice. So, he’s instantly got the best nickname on the team. 

• 

  Eric Toles has a nice all-around game with length to be disruptive on both ends as a guard. By Owen Main

  Eric Toles (Junior, Sierra College) — Toles is long and thin. He handles the ball well for how long he is. The big thing I wanted to see about some of the new guys was how they shoot, and nobody’s shot looks broken. Toles has been around campus and I caught him at the Cal Poly vs. San Jose State football game, so he’s already engaging in some school spirit and what’s going on around campus. Toles has a smoothness about his game that makes me think he’s the kind of guy who could fly under the radar and end up with like 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists in a given game while filling-in gaps all over the floor. 

• 

  Marcellus Garrick is probably the most physically impressive of the incoming players. By Owen Main

  Marcellus Garrick (Junior, Alan Hancock College) — Garrick could be the yin to Toles’ yang. They are roughly the same size (about 6’4″) and the two players do a lot of the same things. Callero discussed using both of them at the top of a 1-3-1 defense. In contrast to Toles’ fluid movement, Garrick is a whirling dervish. The Hancock College product is the stronger of the two, but also has a good looking jumper and figures to be disruptive on defense as well. 

• 

  Paulo Cruz shouldn’t have a problem with poise and his jumper looks niiice. By Owen Main

  Paulo Cruz (Junior, University of Arizona) — Cruz sat on the bench in a top-25 program for the past two seasons. He’s Cal Poly quarterback Khaleel Jenkins’ former high school teammate and, like Garrick and Toles, is a legit 6’4″. Cruz’ jumper might be the most pure out of the three. You have to think that having practiced with and against some high major talent over the past few years will be impactful in terms of experience and ability to step into game situations Cal Poly experiences, especially at the beginning of the season. 

• 

  Kārlis Garoza has been a decorated youth athlete in Latvia. By Owen Main

  Kārlis Garoza (Freshman, Latvia) — Gāroza started as the center on a U-18 Latvian National Team at the end of 2016. His finishing under the hoop was confident, but playing time for Gāroza will likely depend on how quickly he can pick up on defensive concepts, protect the rim on that end of the floor, and finish possessions with rebounding. With Luke Meikle, Josh Martin, Hank Hollingsworth, and Aleks Abrams all upper-classmen, I wouldn’t be surprised if Garoza redshirted. But that was not a question I asked Callero on Friday and that would be pure speculation on my part. Maybe a three-man center rotation along with Hollingsworth and Abrams will be an effective and competitve thing too. 

• 

  Jared Rice will look to compete all season as a walk-on from Modesto. By Owen Main

  Jared Rice (Freshman, Modesto, CA) — Rice is a walk-on who Callero praised after practice on Friday. He already has the thickest shoulders of any of Cal Poly’s small guards and plays with some swagger. His shot looks confident too. Like I said about James, it’s demanding to be a young point guard at Cal Poly. Rice will likely give Cal Poly some roster flexibility if there are injuries. He’s already impressed the coaching staff. 

Back on the floor

I’m convinced Mark Crowe will be an impact player as a redshirt freshman during his second year on campus. By Owen Main

Two players who will probably have big impacts this season are back on the floor for Cal Poly. Josh Martin, who missed all but the first few games last season with an injury, is back. Martin had 21 rebounds in the season opener last season before injuring his leg. He was practicing without any kind of brace or observable ill effects on Friday. 

Mark Crowe will be kind of a wildcard for the Mustangs this season. Crowe redshirted during his first year in San Luis Obispo. He has an athletic, 6’5″ frame, allowing him to play probably either the 3 or 4 for this year’s Cal Poly team. He has a decent looking jumper and good instincts from what I saw. For anyone who saw Cal Poly’s layup line last season, you have to be excited about what Crowe might bring. 

So, that’s eight players who are “new” faces on a 15-man roster. Aside from Victor Joseph and Donovan Fields getting significant minutes alongside veterans Luke Meikle and Josh Martin early in the season, I am completely clueless about how the rest of the minutes shake out right now. There are guys competing for time at virtually every position. 

Photos by Owen Main. For more photos, click here.If you just want to contribute to the cause, Venmo @Owen-Main or paypal owen@fansmanship.com. 

In a game that they were out-rebounded by 10, committed 16 turnovers, and had two of their top scorers — Luke Meikle (6) and Josh Martin (0) — combine for just six points, Cal Poly made a second half run and found a way to beat Northern Illinois 68-64.

Great team win vs host Northern Illinois! Big time production from our bench. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

— Pawel Mrozik (@coachmrozik) November 24, 2016

Joseph gets hot

Victor Joseph had his best game yet in a Cal Poly uniform. By Owen Main

Junior transfer Victor Joseph had his finest game as a Mustang. Joseph scored 19 points, knocking down two three-pointers and knifing inside for an array of layups and runners.

While fellow small guard Donovan Fields got some rhythm last weekend at home, Joseph came off the bench to shoot 6-8 from the field.

Zach Attack

Zach Gordon has been a stabilizing influence inside off the bench this season, and Wednesday was no different. Gordon entered the game at the under 16:00 timeout in the first half and promptly took a pair of charges and finished a dunk. He was 1-1 shooting for the game. Gordon also added three blocked-shots in the first half and battled hard with Northern Illinois big man Marin Maric throughout the game.

Zach Gordon has given Cal Poly valuable minutes in the front court this season. By Owen Main

His stat line doesn’t look like much in the box score, but there is a good reason he was on the floor for 27 minutes. Production gets you minutes.

Overall, Cal Poly’s bench scored 31 of the Mustangs’ 68 points. Mustang guards accounted for all but eight of Cal Poly’s scoring output on the night.

Start Fast

Cal Poly’s first half saw them outscore NIU by 10 points. The score was tied within the first few minutes of the second half and, on two occasions, NIU led by 6 points twice in the final half before Cal Poly stormed back to take control.

Streaky

With Cal Poly down by six points and just over eight minutes to play, Ridge Shipley scored seven straight points in about a minute for the Mustangs on three straight possessions to cut the lead to two. Josh Mishler’s right-handed drive on the next possession tied the game at 51.

From there, Joseph scored nine of Cal Poly’s final 17 points en route to victory.

Death Lineup?

Like most of the scoring in this particular game, Cal Poly’s big run came with a sort of death lineup on the floor. With Zach Gordon at the five and 6′ 5″ Josh Mishler at the four, Cal Poly ran Victor Joseph, Jaylen Shead, and Ridge Shipley at three guard positions. Joseph and Shipley were able to get good penetration, while Shead and Mishler battled inside just enough for Cal Poly to not get killed on defensive rebounding.

A three point-guard lineup like this has been intriguing to me all year with the roster as it’s constructed. Look for Cal Poly to use it to make other teams uncomfortable for portions of games and to extend this type of a lineup if it seems to be working well.

Up Next

Cal Poly will take Thanksgiving Day off before battling University of Illinois-Chicago on Friday and Elon on Saturday to conclude the NIU Thanksgiving Classic. Elon beat UIC 91-80 on Wednesday.

Last season, Cal Poly had 10-12 players who got significant playing time at different points during the season, including four seniors who were also four of the top five on the team in minutes per game.

Jaylen Shead showed what he was capable of at the end of last season and his strength and versatility at the point guard position could pay dividends for Joe Callero and co. in 2016-17. By Owen Main

Changes seem to be on the horizon from last year’s squad that went 10-20 overall en route to another 7-seed in the Big West Tournament and a first-round exit. Only two players remain on the roster from the team that raised the trophy in Anaheim and won an NCAA Tournament game. On Cal Poly’s website right now, there are only 10 players listed. 

According to VerbalCommits.com, there are five new faces coming. Let’s take a quick look at who they are.

Victor Joseph – PG – Chaffey JC

From Rancho Cucamonga, Joseph is a point guard with some solid JUCO experience. I talked to Joseph after he committed and he was excited to be coming to San Luis Obispo. Seeing him and a few other guards in person will really be key to figuring out where they fit-in.

For what it’s worth (maybe not a ton at this point), here’s a Joseph highlight video from his senior year of high school:

Josh Mishler – F – Saddleback College

Mishler, who spent time at the Air Force Preparatory School, seems like he’ll play a role, especially on the defensive end. Without Jacob Cushing (a 6′ 7″ incoming freshman who de-committed from Cal Poly and ended up signing with Delaware), Mishler could play a big part in Joe Callero’s plans this season.

Here’s a video of Mishler from a few years ago below. He seems like a savvy player and a good passer who can knock down open shots and play decent defense.

Mark Crowe – G/F – Dallas, TX

Crowe seems like he might be a long 2/3 slashing-type player whose role could be similar to past Mustangs like Michael Bolden. Callero has seen freshmen like Crowe who have some physical tools play big defensive roles in their first season. Crowe’s ability to provide some athleticism and energy could make a huge difference for Cal Poly in his first season.

Here are some of Crowe’s highlight videos.

Kuba Nizioł – F – Howard College (JUCO)

Niziol’s commitment to Cal Poly was announced during the same time period that the Mustangs’ new Associate Head Coach — Pawel Mrozik — was named. Both are Polish and, perhaps, Niziol and Mrozik will mark a turning point in International recruiting for the Cal Poly program.

Niziol has Polish U-20 National Team experience that he will bring to Cal Poly and the Big West. His highlight tape makes him out to be long enough to be a scorer, even though it doesn’t look like he elevates a ton on his shot. That length could also help on the defensive end.

Without Cushing on-campus, Niziol’s shooting and 6’7″ length could have an instant impact. Niziol will be a sophomore this season at Cal Poly.

Donovan Fields – PG – Odessa College (JUCO)

Fields, another undersized point guard, hails originally from New York. With the loss of Serigne Athj from the program, Fields filled a guard spot. Like Niziol, Fields will be a sophomore next year at Cal Poly.

Here are some Fields highlights.

Death Lineup?

With all the talk about the Warriors’ death lineup and with Cal Poly playing much more uptempo than ever last year, what will Joe Callero’s best lineup in crunchtime be?

Returners Jaylen Shead, Ridge Shipley, Taylor Sutlive, Josh Martin, Luke Meikle and Zach Gordon could all conceivably be starters. Aleks Abrams also has some experience in the post and will probably be getting time.

The real question, I think, is how many point guards will Joe Callero put on the floor at once? There are at least four guys in Shipley, Shead, Joseph, and Fields who will all be vying for time. If three of them are playing lights-out, could Callero hide the talented and strong Shead at the bottom of a 2-3 matchup zone and work some pace and space offensively? What about a big lineup that includes Gordon, Meikle, and Martin, where Martin or Meikle would have to guard the 3? I know the versatility of Martin and, to a lesser extent, Crowe, Mishler, and Niziol, will play into a lot of options for Callero and his staff.

Last season, the Mustangs had 10 players, but only David Nwaba seemed to really separate himself on the floor consistently during the season. Jaylen Shead looked promising at the end of the year and Martin and Meikle showed flashes, but there are no guarantees for 2016-17, except that there will be some battles for playing time and that combinations on the court could get really interesting.

Like I said before, until I see new guys in person, I don’t really know. Once players get on-campus, I’ll have a much better idea. In the mean time, Cal Poly returners are doing a lot of work this offseason to improve on three straight seventh-place finishes in the Big West’s regular season.