Warrior Insider

Day 1 of the Air Force Reserve Big West Conference Men’s Basketball Championships featured a pair of upsets in the first round.

Most notable, No. 10 seed Cal Poly stunned No. 7 Cal State Fullerton, 87-82, in the second game of the day at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Mandalay Bay at Las Vegas.

Cal Poly entered the game with a nine-game losing streak and finished the regular season with a 1-15 record against Big West opponents. But the Mustangs had their best shooting game of the season, going 30 for 53 overall (56.6 percent) and an impressive 12 for 18 (66.7 percdent) from 3-point range. Colby Rogers led Cal Poly with 21 points, including 3 for 5 shooting from 3-point range.

The Mustangs improved to 4-19 overall and advanced to Thursday’s quarterfinals. They will face No. 2 seed UC Irvine (16-8).

Landis Spivey led Fullerton with 17 points. The Titans completed their season with a 6-10 record.

In the first game, No. 9 seed Long Beach State surprised No. 8 CSUN, 85-63, to advance to the quarterfinals. The Beach dominated the game from start to finish, with freshman guard Jaden Jones leading the way with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

The Beach shot 51.6 percent from the field (32 for 62), including 40.9 percent (9 for 22) from 3-point range. In contrast, the Matadors shot 29 percent from the field (20 for 69), including just 16.7 percent (5 for 30) from 3-point range. TJ Starks led CSUN with 23 points.

The Beach, which ended a four-game losing streak, improved to 6-11 and will next take on No. 1 seed UC Santa Barbara (19-4) on Thursday. CSUN completes its season with a 9-13 record.

Hawai’i, the No. 6 seed, will face No. 3 UC Riverside on Thursday evening.

Big West Conference Championship Tournament
Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas
March 9
No. 9 Long Beach State 85, No. 8 CSUN 63
No. 10 Cal Poly 87, No. 7 Cal State Fullerton 82

March 11
No. 1 UC Santa Barbara vs. No. 9 Long Beach State, 11:00 a.m. PT
No. 4 UC Davis vs. No. 5 CSU Bakersfield, 2:00 p.m. PT
No. 2 UC Irvine vs. No. 10 Cal Poly, 5:00 p.m. PT
No. 3 UC Riverside vs. No. 6 Hawai’i, 8:00 p.m. PT

March 12
First Semifinal, 6:00 p.m. PT
Second Semifinal, 9:00 p.m. PT

March 13
Championship, 8:30 p.m. PT