BOX SCORE
ANAHEIM – The No. 2 Cal Poly men’s basketball team held the early momentum, but it was top-seeded Long Beach State which took the upper hand and opened up a decisive advantage midway through the second half as the 49ers defeated the Mustangs, 94-83, in the championship game of the Big West Conference Tournament Saturday evening at the Anaheim Convention Center.
With the loss, Cal Poly was denied the program’s first berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Cal Poly (19-11), winner of eight straight games entering Saturday’s title tilt, led 35-30 at halftime but a 17-6 run by the regular-season champion 49ers just over three minutes into the second half would contribute to the dashing of Cal Poly’s NCAA hopes. The Mustangs, who led by as much as 10 points in the first half, held their last advantage 51-49 with 13:10 remaining on a one-handed runner in traffic by guard Trae Clark.
“Long Beach State didn’t panic and they showed tremendous poise. We just didn’t get the offensive rebounds we needed down the stretch,” Cal Poly head coach Kevin Bromley said. “I’m proud of our guys, however. It was only through the collaborative effort we had this season that we enjoyed the success we did.”
For Cal Poly, Saturday’s loss was the second in a Big West title game in five seasons. The Mustangs dropped the 2003 championship matchup to Utah State, 57-54. Long Beach State (23-8), which fell in last year’s title game to Pacific, 78-70, will make the program’s first NCAA appearance since 1995.
Guard Chaz Thomas scored a career-high 31 points on 11-for-14 shooting and his 83.3 (5-for-6) three-point percentage tied a Big West Tournament single-game record.
Long Beach State, however, overwhelmed the Mustangs with 64 second-half points and shot 85 percent (28-for-33) from the free throw line Saturday.
Individually, Long Beach State guard Aaron Nixon lived up to his Big West Player of the Year honor, notching 29 points and 11 rebounds. He was 8-for-17 from the floor and 10-for-11 from the free throw line in earning tournament Most Valuable Player praise. Cal Poly forward Derek Stockalper (eight points, 12 rebounds) and Clark (10 points) were Cal Poly’s entries onto the All-Tournament Team.
A Clark three-pointer gave Cal Poly a 33-23 advantage with three minutes remaining in the first half. Long Beach State, however, rallied with a 7-2 run heading into the locker room. Cal Poly grabbed just one offense rebound in the first half.
Long Beach State led by as much as 14 points with five minutes to play. Cal Poly bridged the deficit to eight points down the stretch multiple times but pulled no closer.
By most measures, Cal Poly completed the program’s top season since transitioning to the Division I level 13 seasons ago. Cal Poly’s marks for total victories (19) and winning percentage (.633) are both the highest in Division I history and the Mustangs second-place finish in the Big West was the program’s best in 11 years.
