Allman & Ahmad an unbeatable duo in Fullerton’s run to tournament title
Kyle Allman Jr. didn’t have the Most Valuable Player trophy that he envisioned he should have, but the one he earned Saturday seemed even better in hindsight.
Allman, Jr. had a fantastic game in scoring 26 points to lead fourth-seed Cal State Fullerton to a decisive 71-55 victory over UC Irvine in the Big West Men’s Basketball Tournament Presented by MemorialCare.
Allman, Jr. didn’t win the conference’s regular season player of the year trophy as that went to UC Davis guard TJ Shorts II.
Allman, Jr., however, was named the Big West tournament MVP after leading the Titans to three wins in three days, and the first two were nail biters.
“I worked super hard to get this. I was a little down about not getting player of the year,” Allman, Jr. said. “This made me a little happy.”
Cal State Fullerton (20-11) won the Big West Tournament for the first time since 2008. The Titans did so with a powerful duo of Allman, Jr and Khalil Ahmad (23 points). They were trash talking on the court, too, with their high-flying shots and 3-point shots.
Allman, Jr. made his first four three-point attempts. Ahmad had three 3-pointers. As for all that chatter, Ahmad said: “I guess we were just talking nice.”
Ahmad used his hand to mimic the shape of an old-school phone.
Added Allman, Jr.: “long-distance.”
Allman, Jr. was at the free-throw line in the second half when the “MVP!” chants broke out. Fans predicted that one right.
“Early in the game, Kyle Allman made some tough shots,” Irvine coach Russell Turner said. “He has great lift on his shots. It’s difficult for anybody in our league to contest him when he gets the type of lift he can get. He made some tough ones early in the game and he did it again to start the second half. That’s what great players do. He was the MVP because of that type of performance.”
UC Irvine, the Big West’s best defensive team, couldn’t figure out a way to stop Allman, Jr., Ahmad and Co.
“You just have to admire their work ethic,” Fullerton coach Dedrique Taylor said of Allman, Jr. and Ahmad. “Just three years ago, those two guys were logging a lot of minutes by accident, because the program was so depleted, there was so much adversity and so many injuries and off court issues. Those guys stayed their course and (I liked) their maturity and work ethic.”
All-OC finale makes for festive Honda Center Atmosphere
The Big West Men’s Basketball Tournament Presented by MemorialCare featured the two Orange County teams for just the second time in the history of the tournament. Cal State Fullerton controlled most of the game that featured a crowd of 5,664.
“That was one of the best feelings ever, not only to come out on top, but I thought we had more fans,” Titans coach Dedrique Taylor said. “That was one of the best feelings ever, not only to come out on top, but I thought we had more fans. I have to acknowledge that the fans came out. I want to bottle this moment, and hopefully, bottle this up and galvanize this community so that no matter who we’re playing, the Titans, I believe, are worthy of their attendance. This is a unique and special opportunity.”
Even Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball, dressed in a red sweatsuit, took in the game from courtside. He played high school basketball with UC Irvine forward John Edgar Jr. and Fullerton guard Austen Awosika at Chino Hills.
“We knew it would be a great rivalry game, but it didn’t feel much like that in the second half,” Turner said. “It felt like we were climbing up a hill. We didn’t create enough positive plays to get our crowd excited the way their crowd was. Give their fans credit. I know that feeling. I’ve experienced it.”
CSUN wins 4 games in 5 days to win Big West
The Matadors were cutting down the nets after winning the Big West Women’s Basketball Tournament Presented by MemorialCare to the tune of Drake’s new song, “God’s Plan.” That didn’t go unnoticed by CSUN coach Jason Flowers, who was wearing the championship net around his neck.
“Yesterday, one of the parents brought up (the championship game) as we were getting on the bus, and I said I’m not worried about it,” Flowers said. “I told the team before that we can win the tournament. I said (to the parent), ‘I prayed about it’ and walked off.
“If you were in our locker room two weeks ago or if you followed this team this year, I don’t know how many people would’ve signed up for that. Everybody has their own beliefs. I believe it was part of God’s plan to do what we did. It was only fitting that Drake’s song was playing as we cut down the net.”
The Matadors had a tough road to win the Big West Tournament as the tournament’s fifth seed but they did it, upsetting top-seed UC Davis 63-55 in the final Saturday at Honda Center. CSUN had to win four games in five days, and they did it with their most valuable players - Channon Fluker (the Big West Conference regular season MVP) and Tessa Boagni (the Big West Tournament MVP).
Fluker had 24 points and 17 rebounds while Boagni added 23 points in the win over UC Davis.
The Matadors (19-15) have won the Big West tournament title three of the last five years. They got hot at the right time, winning five of their last six games. They’ll find out Monday who they will play in the NCAA Tournament.
In the current Big West women’s format in the tournament, the first round is Tuesday, quarterfinals are Wednesday and then there is a day off Thursday. Play resumes for the semifinals on Friday and championship Saturday.
“I wouldn’t say it’s difficult. My body didn’t feel like I played four games in five days,” Boagni said. I guess it was adrenaline and living in the moment. I don’t think it’s that hard. When you have a goal, nothing can get in your way, whether you play one game or four games.”
Boagni, wasn’t just scoring, she contributed with eight rebounds and four assists. Fluker came up four assists shy of a triple double. Fluker scored 16 of her 24 points in the second half and was a big factor defensively in the Matadors’ zone. When they switched to zone, UC Davis struggled to make shots.
Make that eight for eight
A different team has won the Big West Men’s Basketball Tournament in each of the last eight years at Honda Center. Only CSUN and UC Riverside haven’t won the tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament over that span.
UC Davis won last year for the first time in school history, and the Titans won this year. Hawaii (2016), UC Irvine (2015), Cal Poly (2014), Pacific (2013), Long Beach State (2012) and UC Santa Barbara (2011) have proven that it’s tough for any team to dominate the postseason tournament.
Put me on the Zamboni, Coach
At the morning shoot around on Saturday, Cal State Fullerton coach Dedrique Taylor told his staff that he wanted one thing if the Titans were to win the tournament championship that night. It was to ride the Zamboni. Or whatever it’s called.
“If we win the tournament, there’s one thing I want to do. The president (Tim Ryan) of Honda Center is a friend of mine, and I hope he’s listening,” Taylor said. “He’s seen my golf game, and it’s atrocious, so I appreciate him watching. They have that thing that goes on the ice, to clean the ice, I just want to ride on the back of that,” Taylor said. “I just want a ride. It doesn’t even have to be a game. I just want to ride on the back of that and hang out and be a part of somebody else’s success.”
Disneyland, anyone?
Not for CSUN coach Jason Flowers.
Asked how he planned to celebrate the victory, Flowers said the team and fans would go to the Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que in Orange for some barbecue and strawberry lemonades.
UC Irvine making its own opportunities
The UC Irvine men’s basketball team made the Big West Tournament championship game for the second consecutive year but wasn’t able to win either one. The Big West is a tough conference that’s featured a different team winning the last eight years. UC Irvine won in 2015, but has a young team that can learn from these experiences. And the Anteaters have put themselves in good positions to get to the NCAA Tournament, having played in the tournament championship game four of the last six years.
UC Davis credits CSUN with zone play in championship game
Top seed UC Davis (25-6) started out well in building a 19-9 lead after the first quarter, but CSUN controlled the game for the next three quarters. Jason Flowers admitted that earlier this season, he didn’t think the Matadors could win playing zone. He said he was wrong. That zone flustered UC Davis.
“We’ve been coaching long enough to know that the game isn’t 10 minutes long,” UC Davis coach Jennifer Gross said. “We knew they were going to fight back. They’re in this position and championship game because they’ve played really well through this whole tournament. We were just trying to put ourselves in a position where we were focused on one defensive stop at a time and one offensive score at a time.
“They switched up their zone, and we had a couple turnovers against that and I feel like we never really settled into our groove again offensively. We tried to throw a couple different looks ... we didn’t shoot the ball as well as we would’ve hoped.”
UC Davis all class in disappointing Big West title defeat
Rachel Nagel, a senior, was understandably in tears when she was subbed out near the end of the Big West tournament championship game that UC Davis lost to CSUN, 63-55. Davis won the Big West Conference regular season title the last two seasons.
Coach Jennifer Gross said she might become emotional if she was going to start talking about her four starting seniors who were close but never got the opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament.
Senior forward Pele Gianotti handled questions and the disappointment in the best way possible.
“What I told my team was that I would rather be a part of Davis losing than on any other team that won,” Gianotti said. “It’s a family. We really worked hard on and off the court and established these relationships. I’m just really proud to be a part of UC Davis.”
Gross confirmed that the Aggies would play in the WNIT postseason tournament. They received a bye by virtue of winning the Big West regular season title.
“It’s hard to think about a future right now but we’d be excited to represent the conference in the WNIT,” Gross said.