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GAME NOTES: The Cal Poly Mustangs try to prevent their longest losing streak of the season tonight as they visit the UC Riverside Highlanders for a Big West Conference bout at the Student Rec Center.

Cal Poly began the 2009-10 campaign with five straight losses and again the team is experiencing a similar slide. On Thursday night the Mustangs took a tumble at home versus Long Beach State in a 78-72 final, dropping them to 5-6 in league play.

As for the Highlanders, they again have a chance to register back-to-back wins for the first time since the first week of December, having defeated Cal State Fullerton last weekend on the road, 76-59. The victory snapped a three-game skid, but was still just the second win in the last 10 games for a team that is now 3-8 in the Big West.

The Highlanders lead the all-time series by a count of 41-38, but it was Cal Poly that picked up a 67-65 win at home in the first meeting this season last month.

Cal Poly held a 10-point lead at the break and led by as many as 13 points in the first half, but a mere 33.3 percent shooting from the field in the second half doomed the squad in the loss to Long Beach State two nights ago. David Hanson checked in with 19 points while both Lorenzo Keeler and Shawn Lewis contributed 17 points. In Keeler's case, he shot just 6-of-20 from the floor, but tried to make up for it with his team-best 10 assists. Keeler, just a 39.1 percent shooter from the floor this season, paces the team in scoring with his 15.5 ppg, thanks in large part to having made more free throws (109-of-128) than any of his teammates have yet to attempt. The only other active double- digit scorer is Shawn Lewis with his 10.5 ppg, although he too has been erratic from the floor at just 38.3 percent.

Kyle Austin treated the Titan Gym crowd to a rare treat last weekend as he scored a career-high 35 points in the win over Fullerton on the road. The scoring burst represented the second-highest total for a UCR player since the program moved to the Division I ranks, trailing only Ricky Porter who delivered 40 points against Pacific four years earlier. Not only did Austin make all three of his three-point tries and 6-of-6 at the free-throw line, he also found time to clear 11 rebounds as well. In terms of production on the season, Austin is the lone double-digit scorer for the Highlanders with his 17.5 ppg, although his production could be so much more given that he has made a mere 59.5 percent of his free-throw attempts. Larry Gurganious is second on the list with 8.2 ppg, but with him making only 57.8 percent at the charity stripe it should not be surprising that the team is at 61.7 percent overall.

Austin showed that he can fill up the bucket and even if he doesn't get enough support from his teammates, the Highlanders should still be on track for the home win tonight.