Big West Second Round Recap

Cal State Northridge 61, UC Santa Barbara 58
Only in the wacky Big West Conference where a player trips over the opposition on an inbound play which ends up costing a team a victory.

UC Santa Barbara senior Jacoby Atako tripped over Cal State Northridge’s Thomas Shewmake’s foot with 50 seconds left, resulting in a turnover and an eventual game-winning floater by Matadors guard Antoine Parker in a 61-58 come-from-behind victory.

With Atako laying on the floor, Cameron Goettsche in-bounded the ball and Parker gained control before making what would be the game-winning shot with 33 seconds left.

The Matadors, who trailed by 10 points with 12:04 remaining in the second half, used a 8-0 run sparked by three-pointers from Parker and freshman walk-on Terrell Jones.

Northridge even trailed by three with less than one minute left as junior Joseph Frazier had a key offensive rebound and layup which cut the deficit to one.

Gauchos senior Branduinn Fullove, last season’s conference play of the year was held to just two points in 15 minutes of action.

Leading the way for the Gauchos were Atako and Cecil Brown who scored 10 each.

The Gauchos only offense came from the free throw line where they shot 20-23 from the charity stripe. Perimeter shooting was all but absent in the second half, making just two field goals from 15 feet and out and making 0-9 three point attempts for the game.

UC Santa Barbara’s season ends with a record of 16-12. Picked to be a team to compete with Utah State for the conference title, they have been a disappointment, especially in conference play.

Ian Boylan, fresh off his career-high 31 point performance against Cal State Fullerton was held to just 13 points on 2-7 shooting from the field. Eto Onyenegecha also scored 13 after being held to just two points and two rebounds before fouling out against the Titans.

No. 4 Idaho 66, No. 5 UC Riverside 58
The University of Idaho Vandals defeated UC Riverside 66-58 in the quarterfinals of the Big West Tournament Thursday night.

The Vandals were led by Tyrone Hayes’ 22 points and five rebounds. Hayes was a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line and as a team, Idaho shot 19-21.

From the start, the Vandals jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The Highlanders would make a rally late in the second half, cutting their deficit to four points following a Ricky Porter three-point play but the Vandals closed out the game by scoring 10 straight from the line.

Idaho’s victory marked their first tournament victory since 1996 when they were in the Big Sky Conference.

Three Highlanders scored in double figures led by Kevin Butler’s 17 points. Vili Morton added 15 along with 12 rebounds and Nate Carter had 13.