BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (Interstat) — Two Big West men’s basketball teams seeking to halt slides will meet Thursday night when the Cal Poly Mustangs visit the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners at Icardo Center.

Both squads enter the 7 p.m. PST tipoff on losing streaks. Cal Poly (7-14, 2-5 Big West) has dropped three straight, including a 93-78 home loss to Cal State Fullerton on Saturday. Cal State Bakersfield (8-13, 2-5) has lost its last four contests, most recently a 98-71 defeat at Hawaii on Jan. 22.

The matchup features two of the conference’s top individual scorers in a battle of backcourts. Cal Poly will lean on guard Hamad Mousa, who is averaging 20.6 points per game over his last seven contests. He scored 34 points in a narrow loss at Cal State Northridge on Jan. 8 and had 26 in a win over UC San Diego on New Year’s Day. In Saturday’s loss to Fullerton, Mousa logged 35 minutes, scoring 15 points with five assists.

The Roadrunners counter with dynamic guard Dailin Smith, who is coming off a 28-point performance in 38 minutes against Hawaii. Smith has shown explosive scoring ability, dropping 30 points in a one-point win over UC Riverside on Jan. 8. His production, however, has been inconsistent during the skid, scoring just three points at Long Beach State on Jan. 10.

For Cal Poly, support for Mousa has come from forward Cayden Ward, who scored 20 points against Fullerton, and Jess Esso Essis, who added 12. Cal State Bakersfield will need more from its supporting cast beyond Smith; Kadar Waller had nine points and three assists against Hawaii, but no other Roadrunner scored more than eight.

The teams have followed similar paths in conference play, with both securing wins over UC Davis and UC Riverside. Defense may be the deciding factor, as both teams have struggled to contain opponents during their respective losing streaks. Cal Poly has allowed an average of 88.7 points in its last three losses, while Bakersfield has surrendered 83.8 per game during its four-game slump.

This is the first of two regular-season meetings between the programs. They will conclude the regular season against each other at Cal Poly on March 7.

In other upcoming action, Cal Poly visits UC Riverside on Saturday. Cal State Bakersfield hosts UC Davis on Saturday.