Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton got clutch performances from their star guards as last second victories highlighted the Big West basketball action last week. UC Irvine also had a big week while Hawaii was dealt two tough losses in its first conference trip to the mainland. Here’s a look at last week’s Big West action.
Last minute heroics
A coast-to-coast drive against Hawaii by Mike Caffey helped Long Beach State (8-8, 4-1) to a 2-0 week, putting the 49ers atop the conference standings. With just over a minute left to play in Saturday’s contest at Long Beach’s Walter Pyramid, Caffey took an inbound pass down to the other end and dropped in a floater to break a 72-72 tie. Hawaii head coach Gib Arnold was issued a technical and ejected from the game, sending Peter Pappageorge to the line for two free throws. Pappageorge hit both to give the 49ers a 76-74 win.
Caffey turned in the performance of the night with 18 points, four rebounds and six assists, leading to a Big West Player of the Week award. Caffey was also instrumental in The Beach’s win over Cal State Northridge earlier in the week, scoring 14 points to start off a 54.4 percent shooting week.
Also coming up big was Cal State Fullerton (10-6, 3-1) guard Kwame Vaughn. Facing UC Riverside (4-12, 1-3) in a tight battle, Vaughn drained a step-back jumper as time expired to lift the Titans over the Highlanders, 71-69, Saturday night at Titan Gym. Vaughn had been cold throughout the night coming into the final stretch of the game. He went just 1-for-11 until the final two seconds, when the senior guard picked up a screen from Deuce McAllister and pulled up for two crucial points.
"Deuce set a great screen for me and a guy jumped to the help side so I turned it down and my teammates were in the right positions," Vaughn said. "I read the defense and hit the shot."
Dishin’ dimes
UC Irvine (9-9, 3-2) has typically relied on the strong shooting of senior forward Michael Wilder, but last week his jumper failed him, as he went just 5-for-16 in two games.
Against CSUN on FOX Sports Prime Ticket’s Game of the Week Saturday night, Wilder attempted only two shots. But Wilder still played a key part in the Anteaters’ two-win week, with 14 assists, including nine against the Matadors, 10 rebounds and four steals.
Known for his old school afro, Wilder posted up against the Big West’s other ‘fro belonging to Hawaii’s Isaac Fotu in Wednesday night’s 68-64 win over the Rainbow Warriors. Wilder helped hold the standout freshman to just four points while also helping with the defensive job on Christian Standhardinger (12 points).
“What did Mike do? He made everyone else better,” said UCI head coach Russell Turner. “He’s just a basketball player, he’s fun to watch.”
Read the rest of the Big West Roundup
here.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Big West Roundup is a weekly feature written by Abbey Mastracco for FoxSportsWest.com