Men's Basketball evened its Western State Conference record with a win at home against visiting Los Angeles Pierce, 64-50. The victory marked their sixth straight win over the Brahmas, dating back to 2020. Cuesta took control early in the game and carried a 28-23 lead into halftime. All-WSC Guard Drew Ardouin (#14) was one of three Cougars to score into double-digits. He netted a game-high 27 points, while Forwards TJ Maveety and Ethan Walker both posted Double-Doubles with identical totals of 11 points and ten rebounds. The Cougars are now 8-14 overall and 3-3 in WSC play.
Ardouin also accomplished a career milestone in the contest by becoming sixth Cuesta player on record (since 1989) to score 1,000 career points. Ardouin entered the game just 14 points shy of the millennium mark and cleared it by halftime (pictured). He is the first player to reach the mark since former CCCAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year Malte Kramer in 2012. Currently, the Cougars playoff hopes are slim, however, with six games remaining in the season, Ardouin will have a chance to chase Martin Rajniak's (2001-02) current Cuesta career scoring record. Rajniak scored 1,200 points during his two seasons in San Luis Obispo, which still places him 187 points ahead of Ardouin. Ardouin has played 51 games for Cuesta over the past two seasons and owns six 30-point games, including one game of 40, however he would need to average more than 31 points per game to claim the record in the regular season. Ardouin also currently ranks second at Cuesta with a career scoring average at 19.9 points per game. He trails a fellow former Atascadero Greyhound on that list, Mecklen Davis (2005-06). Davis averaged 20.1 points per game over his two all-conference seasons at Cuesta.
The Cougars open their second swing through the Western State Conference this Saturday with a men's and women's doubleheader against visiting Santa Barbara City. The Cougars beat the Vaqueros, 74-54, in their first meeting on January 10th in Santa Barbara.
Cuesta Men's Basketball - 1,000 Career Points (since 1989)
1200 Martin Rajniak (2001-02)
1167 Mecklen Davis (1167)
1165 Josimar Ayarza (2008-09)
1092 Malte Kramer (2011-12)
1060 Charles Thomas (1994-95)
1013 DREW ARDOUIN (2023-24)
