A double sweep and a first time NCAA tournament

Story Highlights:

• Cal Poly sweeps Northern Illinois University and Wagner bringing their record to 17-3
• Coach Larry Lee and fans talk about what they see the Cal Poly baseball team bringing this season
• Cal Poly basketball on to the Big Dance for the first time in school history

Cal Poly takes infield practice as they prepare for their back-to-back series against Wagner and Northern Illinois University

Cal Poly executes the double sweep at home against Northern Illinois and Wagner

Cal Poly had a series of wins with scores of  4-2, 10-1, and 11-9 in their mid week series against Northern Illinois University on March 11-13 at Baggett Stadium bringing their record to 14-3.

With the win Cal Poly completed their second sweep of the season and has won 14 straight home games which is a record that started last season.  They also have the fifth longest winning streak in the nation according to a press release on Cal Poly’s website.

“I am a huge Larry Lee fan,” said season ticket holder John Fleming.  “This is the best program right here.”

Indeed it is one of the best in the country as Cal Poly didn’t stop with Northern Illinois as they went into the weekend series against Wagner with the same optimism and completed the sweep bringing their record to 17-3.

“We talk about handling adversity better than our opponents,” said coach Larry Lee. “The other team is always under the same conditions as we are it’s just you have to be able to handle it better.”

Cal Poly defeated Wagner with scores of 8-1, 3-1, and 7-2 on March 14-16 and continued their winning streak at home making it 17 straight home games that they have won rolling over from last season.

“You have an idea of how you think you are going to perform,” said coach Larry Lee. “But until you play outside competition, play the game for real you just never know. I did expect us to play that well but until the first game you don’t really know how your individuals  and the team is going to respond.”

Cal Poly exchanges high fives with one another as they celebrate yet another win at Baggett Stadium.

What do opponents look like in the next 12 home games for Cal Poly?

Cal Poly continues their home stand through April 8 against a variety of opponents including league opponents UCSB and UC Davis.  Let’s take a look at what other teams Cal Poly is set to face off against.

• March 21-24 vs. Cal at Baggett Stadium
• March 28-30 vs UC Davis at Baggett Stadium
• April 1 vs. CSU Bakersfield at Baggett Stadium
• April 4-6 vs. UCSB at Baggett Stadium
• April 8 vs. St. Mary’s at Baggett Stadium

Cal Poly basketball gets pumped up with their pre-game ritual as they prepare to face their opponents.

Cal Poly Basketball to go to NCAA tournament for first time in school history

According to a press release on Cal Poly’s website, senior forward and MVP of the tournament Chris Eversley scored a game-high 18 points for Cal Poly as they defeated fifth-seeded Cal State Northridge.  They won in the final seconds 61-58 in the Big West championship game in Anaheim on Saturday night taking them to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.

“As much as I wanted the basketball team to do well this season, they competed and won the games that mattered and I cannot wait to see what happens in the NCAA tournament,” said freshman Industrial Engineering major Alyssa Kondo. 

Sophomore wing David Nwaba also added 17 points followed by freshman guard Ridge Shipley who scored 14 points to contribute to the win that made Cal Poly the first team in the 39 years of the Big West tournament to be the seventh seed and come back to win the tournament.

This is the third time that Cal Poly has been in the Big West championship game but lost in 2004 and 2007.

According to CBS sports, the conference tournaments allow for even the worst teams to have a chance to make an appearance in the NCAA tournament and Cal Poly did just that with their 13-19 record on Saturday night.  They also managed to make the list of one of the worst teams to make it to the tournament record-wise.

The bracket for the 2014 NCAA tournament can be viewed here.

Hope everyone is looking forward to seeing where these two teams end up as basketball is coming to a close and baseball is just getting started on their runs to be championship teams.

Hoops in Hawaii: On the road again for the Mustangs

Story Highlights

• Cal Poly played 4th place University of Hawaii in Honolulu on Saturday night February 8th
• Joe Callero offers insight about the things the team can improve on and what they have done well this season
• Sophomore forward David Nwaba and junior forward Anthony Silvestri talk about how they got to play at this level of basketball

The Cal Poly Mustangs prepare for their game against no. 4 ranked Hawaii at Mott Athletic Center with the hopes of gaining ground in the Big West standings.

Mustangs rally but fall to Hawaii in the second half 69-60

According to the press release on Cal Poly’s website, the Mustangs suffered their fourth straight loss on Saturday night against Hawaii despite senior guard Kyle Odister and sophomore forward David Nwaba finishing with a team leading 12 points.

Freshman guard Ridge Shipley also matched a career high with nine points for Cal Poly but it was not enough to match the efforts of Hawaii sophomore forward Isaac Fotu who finished with a game high of 26 points inside the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu.

“Each team has strengths and weaknesses and we play some great teams,” said Coach Joe Callero.

Cal Poly held the lead for the majority of the beginning of the game, but Hawaii held the Mustangs to just one basket over a six- minute span and Hawaii went into halftime with a 32-24 lead.

The Mustangs made a couple of nice runs in the second half but it wasn’t enough to beat the Warriors of Hawaii as Cal Poly fell to (4-5) in conference and remain in 5th place in the Big West.

 

Sophomore forward David Nwaba stands at 6’4″ and serves as one of the Men’s basketball key players as he constantly is trying to lead the team into victory.

Three’s company: David Nwaba, Anthony Silvestri, and Coach Joe Callero offer the inside scoop

Joe Callero has been the head coach of the Cal Poly Men’s basketball team for the past 5 years and continues to make a difference and contribute to the players and the teams success.

“Each month we have improved and really concentrate on game plan,” said Coach Joe Callero.  “The number one thing learned is the importance of knowing what the opponents are going to do.”

The Mustangs have had a decent season and coach Callero as well as fans of Cal Poly Basketball are excited to see what is to come of this team as the season wraps up in the next month.

David Nwaba and Anthony Silvestri have both played big roles in the teams overall success.  David Nwaba scores an average of 23.6 points per game while Anthony Silvestri scores an average of about 9.2 points per game this season according to team statistics.

David Nwaba looks to get better at basketball every day and he is constantly working on his game trying to get better.

“I have been playing basketball since the third grade,” said sophomore forward David Nwaba.  “I came to Cal Poly to play because I grew up watching basketball and wanted to play at a good school.”

Nwaba isn’t the only one who came to Cal Poly looking to pursue his basketball career.

Anthony Silvestri is from San Francisco and is in his second year of playing here in San Luis Obispo even though he has been playing the game for quite some time.

“I have been playing since probably like third grade,” said junior forward Anthony Silvestri.  “I came here to play because it’s a good environment and a really good place to go to school.

Mott Athletic Center waits to host Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside which could end up being the games that decide who is going to take the Big West Conference.

Mustangs prepare to dominate So-Cal teams

The Cal Poly basketball team travels down to Southern California in an attempt to weasel their way back into having a shot at the Big West Conference.  After that, the Mustangs play two more southern California teams here at home in Mott Athletic Center.  Their schedule looks as follows:

• Thursday, February 13 at 7 p.m. at Cal State Northridge
• Saturday February 15 at 7:30 p.m. at Long Beach State (also televised on Fox Prime Ticket)
• Thursday, February 20 at 7 p.m. vs. Cal State Fullerton
• Saturday, February 22 at 7 p.m. vs. UC Riverside

If these games are a success for the Mustangs there is a chance that they will be back on top of the Big West Conference.

Stay tuned next week to see how the opening series goes for baseball against Kanas State here at Cal Poly’s Baggett Stadium.

CP Men’s Basketball faces off against 2 UC rivals

Story Highlights

• Cal Poly men’s basketball played 2 rival games at home facing UC Davis on Jan. 30 and UC Irvine on Feb.1
• Cal Poly was in 2nd place in the Big West conference going into the 2 games and was looking to possibly gain ground in the standings by beating last place Davis and first place Irvine.
• ESPN paid a visit to Cal Poly on Feb. 1 and televised the UC Irvine game as students and fans at Cal Poly dressed in BLACKOUT attire.

Cal Poly plots out their next moves of the game at a timeout during their game on Thurs. January 30 vs. the UC Davis Aggies.

Mustangs fall short 62-58 against the Aggies of UC Davis

“We are at home and we always play better at home,” said Junior forward Anthony Silvestri. Not even those words of confidence could help the Mustangs during Thursdays game against last place UC Davis.  A game that was a nail biter until the final seconds when Cal Poly was unfortunately defeated by a mere 4 points.

Despite the unfortunate loss, one highlight stood out in the minds of the 2,242 fans at Mott Athletic Center on Thursday.  Senior forward Chris Eversley made it to his 1000-point mark in his college career with two minutes left in the first half of the game becoming only the 19th Mustang to do so.

According to a press release that was released on Cal Poly’s website, Cal Poly was winning by 6 points with only 13 minutes left to play in the game but didn’t have enough to keep off the Aggies from scoring 10 shots and marching all the way to victory on the Mustangs home court.

The game started off strong however as sophomore David Nwaba broke the tie in the beginning of the game.  With that streak of momentum and the help of his teammates, Cal Poly went into the half with a 28-21 lead.

That momentum changed in the last seconds of the game when Cal Poly missed two key three-pointers that would have tied the game but instead the ball was turned over to Davis as they scored one final three-pointer to solidify their 62-58 victory over the Mustangs.

“We need to have a more explosive offensive game.”  Said Head Coach Joe Callero. “Defensive consistency and rebound has to be there for us to have a chance at the title.”

Cal Poly and UC Davis basketball players get back on the court after a timeout and watch from the half court line as one of the Aggies shoots a basket due to a foul called on the Mustangs.

Cal Poly struggles as they get defeated 64-50 by first place UC Irvine

Cal Poly was going into the game on Saturday night looking hopeful as their fans were dressed in “blackout” attire and ESPN was ready to broadcast this rival game on national television.

Sophomore forward David Nwaba said, “We have been playing good lately so I think we will be fine.” when asked how he thinks the team was going to do against their opponent on Saturday night.

Sophomore forward David Nwaba blocks UC Irvine Freshman Guard Aaron Wright as Irvine looks to shoot a basket and gain on their lead against Cal Poly.

In a press release by ESPN it was said how Cal Poly scored on five out of their first six possessions, but UC Irvine fought back by scoring 20 out of the games next 22 points.

“When we struggle as a team we go 4 or 5 minutes without scoring,” said Coach Joe Callero.  The Mustangs had that exact issue on Saturday night going for almost six minutes without scoring any points.

Despite the efforts of Senior forward Chris Eversley scoring 14 points and Senior Guard Kyle Odister scoring 12 points it just was not enough to carry the Mustangs to a victory that would have taken them to first place in the Big West Conference.

The UC Irvine Anteaters went ahead 39-28 going into the half and never looked back leading themselves all the way into their 64-50 victory over the Mustangs.

What happens now Mustangs?

After a very exciting week of basketball all around the Big West Conference the standings at the end of this week are as follows:

1. UCSB (5-2) c0nference
2. UC Irvine (5-2) conference
3. Long Beach State (5-2) conference
4. Hawaii (4-3) conference
5. Cal Poly (4-4) conference
6. Cal State Northridge (3-5) conference
7. Cal State Fullerton (2-4) conference
8. UC Riverside (2-5) conference
9. UC Davis (2-5) conference

Next week, Cal Poly travels to Hawaii to face no. 4 University of Hawaii in a game that should be an exciting one to watch.  Coach Joe Callero said, “We won last year against Hawaii so we know we can win.”

After that, Cal Poly travels down south to play Cal State Northridge and Long Beach State which should be two really good games to pay attention to.

The Mustangs schedule is going to get tough but nothing that they cannot handle so stay tuned sports fans for more scoop on the team in the coming weeks.