No. 8 CSU Bakersfield 51, No. 9 CSUN 47

Box score | CSUB presser | CSUN presser
HENDERSON, Nev. - Eighth-seeded CSU Bakersfield survived and advanced past No. 9 CSUN, 51-47, in the opening game of the 2023 Hercules Tires Big West Men’s Basketball Championship, presented by The Hawaiian Islands, at The Dollar Loan Center on Tuesday night.

CSU Bakersfield improves to 11-21 in snapping a five-game skid, while CSUN sees its 2022-23 season end at 7-25. The teams had split their regular-season meetings, with each winning at home.

CSU Bakersfield notched the night’s first four points, all through Travis Henson in the paint from a pair of Ivan Reynolds assists, and used a three-point play by Antavion Collum en route to a 13-6 lead at the 13:31 mark. The Roadrunners then went on a scoreless drought of 2:51, while a 5-0 mini-run by freshman Cam Slaymaker pulled CSUN to within a pair at 21-19 at the final media timeout.

Two Ethan Igbanugo free throws tied the score for a second time coming out of that break, only for a southpaw Reynolds triple, the first made three by CSUB after seven misses, to immediately give the ‘Runners the edge back. CSUN finally took its first lead at 26-24 on two Slaymaker free throws with 1:09 to go, and took it into the halftime interval.

Though the second half again opened with Henson points for CSUB, this time from long range, Atin Wright connected on two free throws and then knocked down a pull-up fast-break triple to give the Matadors a 31-27 advantage. Two more Igbanugo free ones made it a 7-0 run.

Back-to-back Collum makes capped a 6-0 run that had the ‘Runners in front once more, 36-35, at the under-12 media timeout. CSUN later went scoreless for 5:18 while CSUB posted a 5-0 mini-run to go up, 44-42.

The game turned into a free throw battle late with no field goals by either side over the last 3:21. Henson and Collum each knocked down a pair of the clutch variety over the final minute to maintain a three-point lead at 50-47 after the latter two.

Wright missed a three-pointer from the top of the key, but had to exit with an injury as CSUN kept the ball with 10.1 ticks left. Slaymaker then had an elbow jumper fall off, and a Reynolds split at the stripe secured the win for CSUB.

The second half ultimately featured seven lead changes and five ties.

Collum, who picked up an All-Big West honorable mention on Monday, finished with a game-high 16 points for the ‘Runners, with nine coming in the first half. The second-year Ole Miss transfer also had six rebounds and two assists. Henson added 11 points and two blocks. Cameron Smith chipped in with 10 points, six boards and three assists, with Reynolds contributing six points and game highs of seven rebounds and six assists.

Wright a third-year sophomore guard who earned a second successive All-Big West honorable mention and entered as the league’s fourth-leading scorer at 17.0 points per game, provided 10 to go with three steals. De’Sean Allen-Eikens collected 15 points and three rebounds.

CSUB moves on to play top-seeded regular-season co-champion UC Irvine in the first quarterfinal on Thursday, March 9, at noon PT, with the contest airing on ESPN+ and SiriusXM.
 

No. 10 Cal Poly 88, No. 7 Long Beach State 68

Box score | CP presser | LBSU presser
HENDERSON, Nev. - Tenth-seeded Cal Poly could hardly miss in the second half and pulled away for a 88-68 upset of No. 7 Long Beach State to conclude play Tuesday night at the 2023 Hercules Tires Big West Men’s Basketball Championship, presented by The Hawaiian Islands, inside The Dollar Loan Center.

Snapping an 18-game losing streak with its last win coming back on Dec. 29, Cal Poly moved to 8-24. Long Beach State, the 2021-22 Big West regular-season champion and tournament runner-up, sees its campaign ended at 17-16. Long Beach State handily won both regular-season meetings, and had taken seven straight against the Mustangs.

Cal Poly came out on fire, thanks in large part to true junior guard Brantly Stevenson starting off 4-for-4 from the field with three three-pointers for 11 points and a 15-10 lead by the 15:24 mark. The Beach went ahead for the first time at 16-15 on a Marcus Tsohonis jumper.

Though the Mustangs held two more leads at 19-17 and 26-25, a pair of Beach spurts of 7-0 and 10-0 enabled the Beach to take a 38-32 advantage into the interval. The latter run was capped at 2:21 by a Tobias Rotegaard triple. Jadon Jones added a late three before finding Aboubacar Traore for a thunderous dunk with 27 seconds left.

The second half began like the first, with Cal Poly firing all cylinders, and the Mustangs grabbed back a 42-40 lead through a 7-0 burst. A fourth Stevenson triple sent them into the under-12 timeout up 55-48.

Cal Poly kept pouring it on as Nick Fleming flung in an improbable three from the right corner, and on its ensuing possession, another true jumper by Stevenson forced a timeout from the Beach, suddenly down a dozen at 60-48 at the 9:45 mark.

Three-pointers by Trevon Taylor and Chance Hunter preceded a nifty pass by Camren Pierce for an easy Julien Franklin layup that brought on another LBSU timeout at 72-53 with 6:21 to go.

Cal Poly shot 11-of-22 from three-point range for the game, including a blistering 6-of-9 in the second half, and 50.8 percent (30-for-59) from the floor. The 84 points were a season high for the Mustangs against Division I opposition.

Stevenson, who entered at 10.5 points per game but was coming off a career-high 32 points just three days prior in Cal Poly’s regular-season finale, led all players with 28 points, 15 of them in the first 20 minutes. Fleming added a season-high 16 points with three triples, reaching double figures for the first time since scoring 12 at Washington on Dec. 13. Pierce collected 14 points, six boards, five assists and two steals, while fourth-year senior big Alimamy Koroma had 10 points.

LBSU redshirt freshman AJ George hit for double figures for a sixth consecutive game, finishing with a team-high 14 points. Lassina Traore, The Big West Newcomer of the Year, produced 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Rotegaard had 10 points.

Cal Poly advances to take on second-seeded regular-season co-champion UC Santa Barbara in the quarterfinals on Thursday night, March 9, at 6 p.m. PT. The game will be on ESPN+ and SiriusXM.