Big West Conference Tournament: In the fast-paced Second Round opener, 3rd-seeded Long Beach State pulled ahead in the final seconds to down Cal State Fullerton 94-91. Aaron Nixon was the star for the 49ers, notching 31 points and 10 rebounds, including scoring five points in the final 30 seconds to give Long Beach State their first Big West Tournament victory in six seasons. Fullerton led by as many as 12 in the second half, and Jamaal Brown missed two free throws with 13 seconds remaining that would have given the Titans the lead. However, Nixon grabbed the rebound and was fouled, sealing the deal. Brown finished with 30 points, and Frank Robinson added 26 and 12 rebounds for Fullerton. The 49ers were helped by Kejuan Johnson and Shawn Hawkins, who had 16 and 12 points, respectively.
In the evening’s second game, 4th-seed Cal Poly downed 5-seed UC Santa Barbara 57-50 to advance to the Big West semifinals. Cal Poly was led by Titus Shelton, who scored a career-high 13 points and 10 rebounds in the victory, and Dawin Whiten, who added 12. The low-scoring affair had the Gauchos leading early, but lost momentum to a Mustang 9-0 run at the end of the first half, followed by a deciding 13-2 run coming out of the intermission. Cameron Goettsche led the Gauchos with 15 points and seven rebounds. [3/9/06]
