Big West Conference Tournament Recaps
For the fifth consecutive year, the Big West Tournament was held at the Anaheim Convention Center right near Disneyland. With the location right near Disneyland, the conference holds a Fan Fest over the duration of the tournament, featuring events at the ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney and the nearby House of Blues.
In the first round, No. 5 UC-Irvine outrebounded No. 8 Idaho (8-22) 47-21 and got a career-high 30 points from Aaron Fitzgerald en route to an 80-67 win. In the other game, No. 7 UC Santa Barbara used a big second half to knock off No. 6 Long Beach State (10-20) by a scored of 55-49. They got 19 points from Joe See and ended the game on a 12-4 run.
With that, it’s on to the quarterfinals, where the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds each received a bye.
Quarterfinal Recaps
No. 3 Cal State Fullerton 66, No. 7 UC Santa Barbara 55
Cal State Fullerton rode strong play from its starters to a 66-55 win over UC Santa Barbara. Ralphy Holmes had his ninth double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead the way, and he combined with Bobby Brown (16 points), Yaphett King and Jamaal Brown (11 points each) to produce 58 of the team’s points. The Gauchos (11-18) shot below 35 percent from the field and were led by Josh Davis’ 15 points and Chrismen Oliver’s 14.
No. 4 Cal State Northridge 72, No. 5 UC Irvine 56
Cal State Northridge used a strong second half to pull away from UC Irvine for a 72-56 quarterfinal victory. The Matadors shot 54 percent in the second half and held the Anteaters (16-13) to 29 percent on the defensive end, never trailing during the contest. Joseph Frazier led the Matadors with 18 points and Ian Boylan added 16. Jeff Gloger led the Anteaters with 14 points, while Aaron Fitzgerald was held to just five points after scoring a career-high 30 in the first round.
Semifinal Recaps
No. 1 Pacific 63, No. 4 Cal State Northridge 61
Pacific kept the nation’s longest winning streak alive with a close one, as they needed three free throws in the final 22 seconds to hang on for a 63-61 win over Cal State Northridge. The Tigers had a 38-24 edge on the boards, but gave the Matadors plenty of opportunities by committing a season-high 23 turnovers.
Guillaume Yango led the Tigers with 15 points and eight rebounds, as they overcame a terrific 32-point effort from Ian Boylan to lead the Matadors (18-13). The Tigers have now won 22 straight games and will carry that streak into the championship game.
No. 2 Utah State 84, No. 3 Cal State Fullerton 77
Cass Matheus and Nate Harris each scored 21 points, and Utah State held off a late rally by Cal State Fullerton in their 84-77 win to advance to their fifth Big West title game in six seasons.
The Titans ran out to an early 10-2 lead and later led by 10, but a late 12-2 first half run evened the score at 29 and the Aggies took a 34-33 lead at the half. Utah State never trailed in the second half, but the Titans (19-10) had runs of 12-5 and 11-4 that weren’t quite enough to complete the comeback.
Spencer Nelson added 14 points and 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season for the Aggies. Yaphett King led the Titans with 26 points and eight rebounds, and Jermaine Harper added 21, all coming on three-pointers as he made 7-of-11 shots from behind the arc.
Championship Game
Utah State 65, Pacific 52
A year after losing in the title game and being a controversial exclusion from the NCAA Tournament, Utah State took over the game with a 19-2 run in the second half that broke open a close game, as the Aggies beat Pacific by a score of 65-52 to win the Big West championship.
During the run, which lasted over ten minutes, the Tigers (26-3) did not have a field goal, and their 52 point total was their lowest of the season. No Tiger scored in double figures, and they committed several unforced turnovers that aided the big second half run.
Freshman Jaycee Carroll was the tournament MVP and led Utah State (24-7) with 22 points and seven rebounds, and Spencer Nelson added 16. The Aggies have now won four conference tournament titles in the last six seasons.
Joining Carroll and Nelson on the All-Tournament team were teammate Nate Harris, Pacific’s Guillaume Yango, Ian Boylan of Cal State Northridge and Yaphett King of Cal State Fullerton.
