Sebastian Mack has a career-high 27 points for the Bruins, who whittle a 19-point second-half deficit to one but can’t catch the Matadors, who beat UCLA for just the second time in 11 meetings, 76-72. UCLA has lost five of its past seven games.
LOS ANGELES — A public university in Los Angeles walked out of Pauley Pavilion with a historic win Tuesday night, but it was not the host. The UCLA men’s basketball team trailed Cal State Northridge by as much as 19 points in the second half, rallied to get within one then lost, 76-72, as the Matadors brought the Bruins’ nation-best 29-game home winning streak to an end.
Junior guard Dionte Bostick had 18 points and seven rebounds to pace CSUN (8-3), which beat UCLA for just the second time in 11 meetings. Senior guard De’Sean Allen-Eikens added 17 points and four rebounds.
The Matadors had not beaten any Pac-12 team since Dec. 21, 2012, and they hadn’t won in Pauley Pavilion since November 2000, a season that resulted in a rare trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Reserves Mahmoud Fofana added 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Gianni Hunt – a transfer from Sacramento State making his Matadors debut – scored 12. Keonte Jones added 12 points before leaving late due to injury.
Freshman guard Sebastian Mack finished with a career-high 27 points and four rebounds to lead UCLA (5-5), which has lost three games in a row and five of its past seven. Sophomore guard Dylan Andrews had a career-high 22 points, junior guard Lazar Stefanovic had 11 points and sophomore forward Adem Bona added eight points and 10 rebounds.
The Bruins had a season-high 19 turnovers and shot 37% from the field (20 for 54), including 37.5% from 3-point range (9 for 24), and shot 65.7% at the free-throw line (23 for 35).
CSUN’s biggest lead was 45-26 less than two minutes into the second half. UCLA rallied behind Mack and Andrews and eventually closed within 57-56 on a layup by Mack with 7:48 left, but the Bruins never took the lead down the stretch.
The Matadors responded with a 6-0 run and built the margin back to nine points when senior guard Gianni Hunt made a 3-pointer for a 68-59 lead with 5:18 left. UCLA’s Stefanovic and Andrews hit 3-pointers to get the Bruins within 71-67 with 1:45 left, but a spinning jump shot by Bostick made it 73-67 with about one minute left. A corner 3-pointer from Andrews cut the margin to 75-70 with 10.1 seconds remaining.
CSUN then turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds pass, giving the Bruins 9.4 seconds to tie the score but Andrews missed a corner 3-point attempt before he was fouled with 4.3 seconds left as he tried to put back his own miss. Andrews made both free throws to make it a one-possession game. UCLA fouled Allen-Eikens with 3.5 seconds left, and he missed the first free throw but made the second for a 76-72 lead.
The Bruins’ 29-game streak included a perfect 17-0 mark at home last season and dated to January 2022.
UCLA’s only other loss to CSUN was a 78-74 decision on Nov. 21, 2000, at Pauley Pavilion – a Bruins team that included Earl Watson, Jason Kapono and Matt Barnes.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin went with a new starting lineup Tuesday, using just one traditional post player in Bona. Cronin surrounded Bona with Andrews, Stefanovic, sophomore guard Will McClendon and freshman forward Brandon Williams. Mack, the team’s leading scorer, came off the bench, entering less than one minute into the game when McClendon left briefly with an injury.
The Matadors raced to an 18-7 lead before UCLA closed to 20-19 with a 12-2 run in a 2½-minute stretch. CSUN unloaded again by outscoring UCLA 20-7 over the final 7:03 of the first half and the Matadors led 40-26 at halftime.
Bona, Stefanovic and Mack each had six points a piece in the first half. The Bruins shot 29.6% in the first half (8 for 27), including a 2-for-10 showing from 3-point range.
UCLA will host Maryland (7-4) on Friday at 6 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion.
CSUN hosts Montana State on Friday at 1 p.m.
More to come on this story.
