| No. 9 CSU Bakersfield 58, No. 8 CSUN 45 |
Box Score | CSUB presser | CSUN presser
HENDERSON, NEV. (March 8, 2022) — Following a low scoring first half that saw seven lead changes, CSU Bakersfield found its footing midway thru the second stanza and pulled away from CSUN in the first round of the 2022 Hercules Tires Big West Men's Basketball Championship, presented by the Hawaiian Islands, at the Dollar Loan Center. Kaleb Higgins (15 points), Shawn Stith (15 points) and Justin McCall (11 points) led the balanced Roadrunners attack for a 58-45 win.
Clinging to a 40-37 lead with less than 10 minutes to play, McCall spearheaded a 6-0 CSU Bakersfield run with two dunks that gave the Roadrunners momentum they carried to the finish line. The victors dominated the paint throughout the night with the 34-12 advantage.
Elijah Hardy led CSUN with 13 points. Fidelis Okereke grabbed a game high 10 rebounds.
CSU Bakersfield (8-18) advances to the quarterfinals to play No. 1 seed Long Beach State (18-11 overall/12-3 in Big West) at Noon PT on Thursday on ESPN+. CSUN concludes its season at 7-23.
| No. 7 UC Davis, 63, No. 10 Cal Poly 53 |
Box score | UC Davis presser | Cal Poly presser
HENDERSON, Nev. (March 8, 2022) — No. 7 seed UC Davis outlasted No. 10 seed Cal Poly 63-53 in the first round of the 2022 Hercules Tires Big West Men's Basketball Championship, presented by the Hawaiian Islands, at the Dollar Loan Center. Elijah Pepper’s three-pointer with 5:15 remaining broke a 43-43 tie, catapulting the Aggies on a game-ending 20-10 run.
Ezra Manjon tallied 15 of his 17 points in the second half, making seven of eight free throws to clinch the game for the Aggies. He also had five assists. Caleb Fuller had 16 points on six-of-14 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds, while Pepper finished with 14 points and nine boards for UC Davis.
Trevon Taylor paced the Mustangs with a game high 20 points, the fourth time in his career he reach the 20 point mark. Camren Pierce added 11 points on 5-8 shooting.
UC Davis improved to 13-10 and advances to play No. 2 seed Cal State Fullerton (18-10 overall and 11-4 in the Big West) at 6:00 on Thursday on ESPN+. Cal Poly finished its season at 7-21.