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No. 1 Long Beach State 72, No. 9 CSU Bakersfield 61

Box score | LBSU presser | CSUB presser

HENDERSON, Nev. (MARCH 10, 2022) — Top seed Long Beach State used a 15-2 run midway thru the second half to defeat No. 9 seed Cal State Bakersfield 72-61 in the opening game of the quarterfinal round of the 2022 Hercules Tires Big West Men's Basketball Championship, presented by the Hawaiian Islands.

Joel Murray scored eight points during the pivotal stretch and finished with a game-high 25 on 9-of-13 shooting from the field, and a 5-of-6 day at the line. Jordan Roberts scored 16 for the Beach, and Jadon Jones added 14 in the win.

The first 25 minutes of game action was a neck-and-neck battle throughout. Long Beach State enjoyed a five-point lead after Jones connected on an uncontested fast break triple to set the score at 39-34. CSU Bakersfield battled back scoring six unanswered to take the lead after Justin Edler-Davis got the offensive rebound and putback to put the Roadrunners on top 40-39 with 14:44 on the clock. Then, the Beach offense sprung to life with the spate of points.

Cal State Bakersfield was led by Justin McCall’s 19 points, 12 of which came in the first half. Cameron Smith added 14 points and Edler-Davis tallied nine points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Roadrunners.

Long Beach State will face UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals at 6 p.m. PT on Friday at The Dollar Loan Center. The semifinal game will be broadcast live on ESPN+, and can be seen on ESPNU following semifinal No. 2. 
 

No. 5 UC Santa Barbara 78, No. 4 UC Irvine 69

Box score | UCSB presser | UCI presser
HENDERSON, Nev. (March 10, 2022)  — The rematch between the 2021 championship finalists again went the way of UC Santa Barbara as the Gauchos have UC Irvine's number in the greater Las Vegas area. Amadou Sow recorded his 20th career double-double, leading No. 5 UC Santa Barbara to a 78-69 win over UC Irvine in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Hercules Tires Big West Men's Basketball Championship, presented by the Hawaiian Islands. 

Robinson Idehen’s dunk with 15 minutes remaining capped an 8-0 Gauchos run and Ajare Sanni free throws held off a late UC Irvine push. Sow finished with 21 points and a career-high 16 rebounds to lead UC Santa Barbara. Sanni blistered the nets from behind the three point line making all four of his attempts, to tally 20 points. Calvin Wishart contributed 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

DJ Davis liked shooting at Dollar Loan Center as well, making 4-of-5 three point attempts for UC Irvine on his way to 21 points. Dawson Baker added 16 points and Collin Welp scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Anteaters.

UC Santa Barbara advances to the semifinals to play regular-season champion Long Beach State at 6 p.m. PT on Friday, live on ESPN+ and delayed on ESPNU following the second semifinal contest. UC Irvine exits the Big West Championship with a record of 15-10.
 

No. 2 Cal State Fullerton 73, No. 7 UC Davis 55

Box score | CSF presser | UCD presser
HENDERSON, Nev. (March 10, 2022) — Big West Newcomer of the Year E.J. Anosike turned in a dominant performance to lead No. 2 Cal State Fullerton past No. 7 UC Davis 73-55 in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Hercules Tires Big West Men's Basketball Championship, presented by the Hawaiian Islands.

Anosike was one rebound shy of the championship single game record of 21. He also had 16 points to record his eighth double-double this season and 35th of his career. In fact, the native of East Orange, N.J. tallied the double-double performance in the first half as we went into the locker room with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
 
While Anosike dominated the paint, Damari Milstead starred from the perimeter, connecting on 5-of 6 from beyond the arc on his way to a game-high 24 points. Tray Maddox Jr. (11 points off the bench) and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (10 points) also reached double figures in scoring. The Titans connected on 57.9 percent of their attempts from distance, a season-high for the squad.
 
Caleb Fuller led UC Davis with 13 points. Elijah Pepper added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Aggies who leave The Dollar Loan Center with a 13-11 record.
 
Cal State Fullerton advances to the semifinals to face No. 3 seed Hawai'i at 8:30 p.m. PT on Friday on ESPNU.
 

No. 3 Hawai'i 68, No. 6 UC Riverside 67

Box score | UH presser | UCR presser

HENDERSON, Nev. (March 10, 2022) — Junior Madut made the go-ahead basket with 2:16 remaining as No. 3 seed Hawaii defeated No. 6 seed UC Riverside 68-67 in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Hercules Tires Big West Men's Basketball Championship, presented by the Hawaiian Islands.

Madut, a junior from Sydney, Australia finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Jerome Desrosiers recorded his seventh career-double double (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Bernardo Da Silva had four blocks for the Rainbow Warriors. Amoro Lado added 12 points off the bench in the victorious effort.

The see-saw contest saw 14 lead changes and five ties, and UC Riverside led for a total fo 21:44. But Hawai'i found a way to win and send the joyous crowd in green away from The Dollar Loan Center with a postseason win to celebrate. The Hawai'i victory is it's first in the Big West Championship since the 2016 title game, breaking a string of four straight appearances that ended in the quarterfinal round.

Zyon Pullin scored 23 points for UC Riverside, one shy of his career high. Flynn Cameron hit five of his seven three-point attempts to finish with 17 points. Three of his connections from long range happened on consecutive possessions as the two teams went shot for shot. His final one in the string gave UC Riverside the 61-60 lead with 4:43 to play. Also reaching double figures for the Highlanders was graduate student, Dominick Pickett (13 points).

Hawaii advances to play No. 2 seed Cal State Fullerton at 8:30 on Friday on ESPNU. UC Riverside exits The Dollar Loan Center with a record of 16-12.