ANAHEIM, Calif. — It was the 100th meeting between Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara, and what a meeting it was.
The score was close until the end when late-game drama, a big block and only a few missed shots made the difference between staying in Anaheim and fighting another day and going back up the coast home. No. 2 seed UC Santa Barbara got the block and the free throws needed in the end to defeat No. 7 seed Cal Poly in the quarterfinal round of the Big West Tournament, Thursday night at Honda Center.
“The 100th meeting - what a cool stat,” said Cal Poly head coach Joe Callero. “And in the 100th meeting it comes down to a minute or two to go, we have the ball and and it’s a two-point game. That’s what you want in the 100th meeting. You’re watching it going, ‘Wow, this is good basketball.’”
The stars in this edition of the rivalry were familiar: Santa Barbara’s senior forward Alan Williams with 19 points and nine rebounds, Cal Poly’s senior guard Maliik Love with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Junior forward Brian Bennett knocked down 15-footers with ease. His 20 points kept the Mustangs in it when they couldn’t find any offense.
“I think Will Davis and Brian Bennett are the two most improved players I’ve seen in this league from one year to the next,” said UCSB head coach Bob Williams.
Michael Bryson had the game-saving block for the Gauchos with 11 seconds left. Williams grabbed the rebound and Love fouled Bryson on the next inbounds play. Bryson hit the free throws to advance the Gauchos to the semifinals for the first time since 2012.
The rivalry has come to a head in recent seasons. The tables have turned as the once unbeatable Gauchos (19-12, 11-5) were knocked off by the Mustangs (13-16, 6-10) on their way to the Big Dance last season.
The old guard might be moving on once again, but it could have very easily gone the other way. It’s a fun time to be playing basketball on the central coast.
“I think it’s reality TV. Nobody can tell you what’s going to happen at this point, the rivalry is unpredictable,” Callero said. “And it’s kind of cool that three out of the last five years that NCAA Tournament teams have come from the central coast. That’s kind of cool. It’s good for basketball and it’s good for our rivalry.”
Caffey Leaves Long Beach State Hoops With Head Held High
ANAHEIM, Calif. — One of the most dynamic guards Long Beach State has ever had wasn’t about to end his career quietly. And Mike Caffey didn’t: In No. 4 Long Beach State's 79-72 Big West Tournament quarterfinal loss to No. 5 Hawaii Thursday afternoon, the senior guard scored 27 points with six rebounds and two assists. He did everything he could to keep his team in the game against a high-pressure Hawaii team.
But The Beach (16-17, 10-6) fell just short, making their earliest exit from the postseason since 2009, and Caffey’s illustrious career came to an end.
“It’s been phenomenal. He’s been one of the best point guards in the history of the school,” said Long Beach State head coach Dan Monson. “It went quick. It seems like he was cutting down the nets as a freshman here yesterday. It just shows you how tough these careers are.”
The three-time all-conference guard finished his career only a single-rebound shy of 500 and played in more games than any other player in school history. He scored over 1,500 points and dished more than 400 assists.
Named a captain as a sophomore, the exceptionally shy Caffey struggled to be the vocal leader the team needed but finally grew into that role as a senior.
“We had some transition, some personnel changes throughout his career and he hung in there with a lot of different guys,” Monson said. “I just appreciate his loyalty to this program and to me and I love him.
“We’ve got to get him his degree and making money playing basketball because that’s what he deserves for what he did for this university.”
Hawaii’s press was effective in forcing Long Beach turnovers in the second half. The Beach took a six-point lead late in the second but the Rainbow Warriors (21-12, 8-8) fought back. The ‘Bows scored 21 points off of 17 Long Beach turnovers to advance to the semifinals for the first time since they returned to the Big West.
It was a balanced scoring effort and Hawaii received a huge boost with 33 points off the bench. The ‘Bows are deep, fast-paced and are defending as well as any other team in the conference.
“We’ve got a lot of character guys on our team and we’re pretty tough,” said interim head coach Benji Taylor. “I think being down six in the conference tournament pales in comparison to some of the other things we’ve been through.”
Johns Embodies Building Blocks Of Highlander Program
ANAHEIM, Calif. — A few years ago, a rebuilding UC Riverside team was routed at the Galen Center by USC. It wasn’t a pretty game, but there was one pretty play: Taylor Johns dunked on his seven-foot defender.
So when Mamadou Ndiaye signed with UC Irvine, Johns began targeting the biggest player in the country.
“He said that from the get-go,” said UC Riverside guard Austin Quick.
Thursday night in the quarterfinal round of the Big West Tournament, the 6-foot-7 Johns got his chance and took full advantage, posterizing the 7-foot-6 Ndiaye.
It wasn’t enough for the sixth-seeded Highlanders (14-17, 7-9) to push past the third-seeded Anteaters (19-12, 11-5). UC Irvine won 63-54 to advance to the semifinals. But Johns would really like a picture of it if it’s out there. He’d like to use it as motivation for next season when UC Riverside takes an even bigger growing step than the one they took this season.
“Since my freshman year the program has really been moving upward and I think now we know what we need to do to win,” Johns said. “So next year from the jump we’re gong to instill that in front of the guys. Something that’s unique, we’re never satisfied. We’re not satisfied. All these guys coming back want so much more, and it’s going to be a fun year next year because we are so determined.”
The Highlanders gave Irvine all they could handle for 40 minutes. With four minutes left, the Anteaters had only a three-point lead. But needing to foul, the Anteaters sunk their free throws, dug a little deeper and called on the lessons learned from their past postseason games to push them through in the waning minutes.
“We have been in this situation before,” said UCI head coach Russell Turner. “I think the experience has helped us along the way.”
UC Irvine was the more experienced and more skilled team and that ultimately gave the ‘Eaters the advantage. But this game was some of the best competitive experience that Dennis Cutts’ young group has had in a while. It’s been more than a few years since the Highlanders have been this competitive. There’s been a lot of adversity to overcome, but finally, UC Riverside basketball is trending in the right direction.
“The next step is just to keep growing,” Cutts said. “I give these guys credit for what they’ve done to get from winning six, to this year. I think our culture is as good as it gets, which means we go about our business in the right way.”
UC Davis Grinds Out Victory Over Undermanned CSUN
ANAHEIM, Calif. — CSUN looked as though it had some of that some postseason magic left over from last season, but ultimately the tournament’s top seed in UC Davis would overcome the deficit and go on to win their first Big West Conference Tournament game since 2010, Thursday at Honda Center.
The Aggies were down by as much as 11 in the first half but a heightened level of defensive execution in the second led to more offensive chances.
“I didn’t think we came out as aggressive as we would like on the defensive end. They made a lot of plays, shot 58 percent from the field, and I thought controlled the tempo of the game,” said UC Davis head coach Jim Les. “We challenged our guys in the second half, especially our post players to set a physical presence for our team.”
There was one play in particular where the Matadors felt that physicality at work. J.T. Adenrele (11 points) muscled his way past two defenders on the baseline and hit a contested jumper to take the Aggies’ first lead of the game with just over seven minutes left to play.
“I definitely think that was a turning point,” he said. “I wanted to come out with a higher intensity to start the second half and make my presence felt on the offensive and the defensive end.”
It’s been a tough road for the eighth-seeded Matadors this season. They failed to get waivers for two high-major transfers that would have changed the entire complexion of the team. Instead, second-year head coach Reggie Theus was forced to play with seven scholarship athletes and an exceptionally thin bench.
But the problem with such a short bench becomes fatigue, and fatigue leads to turnovers. The Matadors had eight in the second half, and the Aggies scored off 14 points off them.
“We can use a short bench and getting a little tired for the turnovers,” Theus said. “But that would be an excuse and I don’t do that.”
Aaron Parks was the entire bench in Thursday’s quarterfinal game, and he came up big for the Matadors with 21 points in 31 minutes. Stephan Hicks finished with 15 points and eight rebounds and Stephen Maxwell scored 19 points in their final games as Matadors.
“For me it’s about the fight,” Theus said. “For me it’s about the battle, and there are certain things that have to happen in a game to win it. We didn’t do the things we needed to do to win it, but the battle was a great one on our part.”