GAME NOTES: The Delaware Blue Hens have made the trek across to country to California for a non-conference tilt against the Cal Poly Mustangs on Friday night.

Delaware, the defending CAA regular season and tournament champion, was beating Liberty with three minutes left in regulation in its season opener on Monday but went 0-for-7 from the field the rest of the way. Liberty scored the final eight points to pull out a 61-55 victory.

Cazmon Hayes scored a career-high 17 points in the setback while Kory Holden totaled 13 points, six rebounds and five assists. Marvin King-Davis also finished in double digits with 11 points, but only three other players scored for the Blue Hens.

The club certainly missed the senior leadership of Kyle Anderson, who started all 35 games last season. Anderson is expected to miss at least a month after undergoing surgery on a broken bone in his hand.

Friday is the first of three straight games in California for UD, with matchups against CSU Bakersfield and Stanford set for Sunday and Tuesday, respectively.

Cal Poly is also coming off an NCAA Tournament bid after winning the Big West tournament, but unlike Delaware, the Mustangs are coming off a win after cruising past San Francisco State, 65-44, on Tuesday. The victory came on the heels of a season-opening 65-49 loss to Nevada.

On Tuesday, David Nwaba and Brian Bennett both scored 13 points and Joel Awich chipped in with 10 points and five rebounds. Reese Morgan has averaged 11.0 points and a team-best 7.0 rebounds per contest off the bench over the first two games.

Cal Poly has shown great ball control in the early going, just as it did last season when it ranked fifth in the country in fewest turnovers (8.9). The Mustangs have totaled just 14 over their first two tests this year.

The only other time these teams met was last January, and the Blue Hens won, 82-72.

This is the first time two defending conference champions will meet at Mott Athletics Center. Expect an efficient Mustangs group to avenge their loss to Delaware 10 months ago.