After playing eight of their first ten games on the road, the Cal Poly Men's Basketball Team gets to finish off their non-conference slate here at home before heading into Big West play.
While the sky seemed like it was falling, after dropping an exhibition to Division II's Cal State Los Angeles to begin the season, the Mustangs have shown signs of improvement. Even though they sit at 3-7, they have a quality win against San Jose State at home and took Pac-12 opponent Oregon State to double overtime showing that this team can compete at a high level and shouldn’t be counted out after a tough start.
“Guys are starting to figure out their roles and and where they fit offensively and defensively," Head Coach John Smith said. "Our rotations are getting more set in stone so that's what this preseason was about.
Pieces like freshman Quentin Jones have been a pleasant surprise for the offense averaging 10 points per game while senior Kobe Sanders has been the go-to-guy all season carrying the bulk of the scoring with over 17 points per game. Early highlights for Sanders have been a game winning basket over St. Thomas and a game-tying three pointer against San Jose State that sent it to overtime where they eventually won.
“Kobe's skilled enough to to do it. He's always been a point guard and he's always been taught to make the right play," Smith explained of Sanders transition to the scorer he is this season. "As for Quentin Jones, we didn't expect him to have to be that number two role but he hasn't run away from the challenge and he's he's skilled enough to take on that challenge.”
The Mustangs have two remaining home games left in their non-conference schedule. They play host to Eastern Washington University on Monday, Dec. 18 and Omaha on Thursday, Dec. 21.
