Anaheim, CA (Sports Network) - Travis Fulton put back an offensive rebound
just before the buzzer to lift the second-seeded Pacific Tigers to a thrilling
55-53 victory over the third-seeded Cal Poly Mustangs in the semifinals of the
Big West Tournament at the Honda Center.
Fulton finished with 12 points for Pacific (21-12), which also received 20
points off the bench from Tony Gill. The Tigers advance to take on the UC
Irvine Anteaters in the championship on Saturday.
Chris Eversley paced Cal Poly (18-13) with 12 points and five rebounds. Chris
O'Brien chimed in with 11 points while Dylan Royer scored 10 points.
Cal Poly connected on 40 percent of its field goal attempts in the first half,
but it managed to make just 2-of-11 from 3-point range. Despite missing all
four of their 3-point tries and going 8-of-23 from the floor in the opening 20
minutes, the Tigers trailed by only two points at 23-21 going into the
intermission.
O'Brien put the Mustangs on top, 53-51, with one minute left in regulation by
sinking a pair at the free-throw line. Lorenzo McCloud made a layup to even
the score on the Tigers' next possession. Royer missed a 3-pointer for Cal
Poly with 27 seconds left, which gave the Tigers the ball with a dead shot
clock. McCloud missed a jumper from the corner with two seconds left, but
Fulton caught the rebound and pushed it back at the basket for the game-
winning play.
Although it lost, Cal Poly held a 29-23 edge in the rebounding battle.
GAME NOTES:
The Sports Network