| No. 5 seed UC Riverside 83, No. 8 seed Cal State Bakersfield 78 |
Box Score | UCR presser | CSUB presser
Gallery: (3-13-2024) 2024 MBB First Round: UCR vs CSUB
HENDERSON, Nev. – After a second-half comeback, the fifth-seeded UC Riverside Highlanders dispatched No. 8 seed Cal State Bakersfield, 83-78, in the first round of the 2024 Hercules Tires Big West Men’s Basketball Championship.
With the win, UC Riverside improves to 16-17 on the season, and advances to take on No. 4 seed Long Beach State on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. from The Dollar Loan Center. Meanwhile, Cal State Bakersfield departs Henderson with a record of 13-19.
Cal State Bakersfield started strong, leading by as many as 19 points with 3:58 remaining in the first half. The CSUB advantage was 11 points at the halftime break with standout performances from Kaleb Higgins, who scored a game-high 35 points, and Modestas Kancleris, who contributed 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Despite the double-digit cushion for the Roadrunners, the Highlanders came out of the break on a tear.
UC Riverside staged a comeback in the second half, led by Barrington Hargress, who finished with 20 points, and a 15-point effort from Isaiah Moses. Hargress swished the stepback jumper with 13:02 remaining to give UCR the 54-52 advantage. The Highlanders would never relinquish the lead, growing the gap to 12 points on a fast break and-one play for Hargress with less than a minute to go.
Cal State Bakersfield rallied to make it a two-possession game late before eventually succumbing. CSUB outshot UCR 55.2 to 47.8 percent, but the Highlanders held the 30-26 rebounding upper hand on the night and sunk 11 triples to secure the victory. Higgins' 35 points fell two shy of tying The Big West Championship single-game scoring record set by Cal State Fullerton's Josh Akognon on March 11, 2009.
| No. 7 seed CSUN 87, No. 6 seed UC Santa Barbara 84 (OT) |
Box score | CSUN presser | UCSB presser
Gallery: (3-13-2024) 2024 First Round: CSUN vs UCSB
HENDERSON, Nev. – In an intense and closely contested matchup that needed a bonus period, No. 7 seed CSUN secured a hard-fought victory over sixth-seeded and defending champion UC Santa Barbara with a final score of 87-84 in the first round of the 2024 Hercules Tires Big West Men’s Basketball Championship from The Dollar Loan Center.
With the victory, CSUN improves to 19-14 while UC Santa Barbara caps the season with a 16-15 record. The Matadors advance to take on third-seeded Hawai’i on Thursday at 6 p.m. The postseason victory for CSUN is their first since 2014, when the squad advanced to the Championship final as the No. 5 seed.
CSUN got off to a strong start, building a nine-point lead off a Jasman Sangha jumper with 13:48 to play in the first half, with the score at 14-5. UC Santa Barbara quickly responded by scoring 13 unanswered to start the see-saw battle that saw 17 lead changes and nine ties.
The second half continued in a similar fashion, with both teams refusing to back down. Keonte Jones led the charge for CSUN with an impressive 24 points on 8-for-11 shotting, supported by Dionte Bostick who contributed 18 points and dished out 6 assists and a 23-point, 10-rebound effort from De’Sean Allen-Eikens. Despite UC Santa Barbara's efforts, including a stellar 36-point performance from UCSB’s Ajay Mitchell, CSUN managed to execute down the stretch. The scoring outburst for junior from Ans, Liege, Belgium, fell one point shy of tying The Big West Championship record.
The Matadors shot 46.8 percent in the game and narrowly outrebounded the Gauchos, 43-41. CSUN’s advantage in the paint was evidenced by a 40-24 margin and the victors managed 21 points off the fast break, compared to 10 for UCSB.