Eversley's double-double helps Cal Poly win home opener 64-53

Posted: Nov 15, 2012 10:02 PM by Andrew Masuda
Updated: Nov 15, 2012 11:55 PM

Eversley, Royer lead Mustangs to win in home opener

Chris Eversley recorded his first double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Cal Poly men's basketball team to a 64-53 win over Northern Colorado in its home opener in from of 1,255 fans at Mott Gym.

The Mustangs evened their mark at 1-1, while the visiting Bears fell to 1-1.

Cal Poly stormed out to an 11-2 lead after Eversley slammed home a missed layup. But the Mustangs went ice-cold from there and trailed 22-21 at the half. Cal Poly shot just 26% in the first half on 8 for 31 shooting and hit just 1 of its 11 3-point shots in the first 20 minutes.

The Mustangs came out firing in the second half. Eversley knocked down a three to give Cal Poly a 1 point lead and the Mustangs were off and running.

Morro Bay High graduate Dylan Royer, a senior guard, finished with 13 points. He hit two 3's in the second half and made 3 of 8 from long distance on the night. He went 4 for 4 from the free throw line.

The Mustangs made 22 of their 30 free throws in the game for a 73% clip to seal the win.

Eversley went 6 for 10 from the floor and 8 for 14 from the free throw line. The junior forward became the first Mustang since February 2011 to score 20 or more points in a game, a span of 36 games.

"I mean we had some defensive breakdowns as a team 1-5 in the first half so we just went back to the drawing board and made some adjustments and decided in the second half the shots are going to fall," said Eversley.

The Mustangs shot 44 percent in the second half, including 5 of 10 from 3-point range. They finished the night shooting 33 percent overall from the floor.

"We simply just went out and did it. We were more aggressive attacking the rim and we figured it's our home court and the shots we missed in the first half would start to go in," said Royer, who went 3 for 10 on the night.

Freshman Brian Bennett, who recorded a double-double in his debut last week, added 8 points and 7 rebounds to go with 2 steals. Chris O'Brien added 9 points thanks to a perfect 6 for 6 mark at the free throw line.

The Mustangs committed just 5 turnovers and dished out 12 assists. They were outrebounded 38-35 by NCU.

Northern Colorado shot 42 percent in the game after the Bears shot 71 percent in their season opening 127-81 win over a NAIA program. Tevin Svihovec led the Bears with 14 points.

The Mustangs return to action on Monday when Fresno State comes to Mott Gym. Tip off is at 7pm.