Fullerton misses its long-range touch
Live by the three ... well, you know the rest of the cliche.
Second-seeded Cal State Fullerton entered a Big West Tournament quarterfinal game against No. 7 UC Irvine on Thursday as one of the nation’s top three-point shooting teams.
But it was Irvine that left with a 65-59 upset victory.
Fullerton made 41.2% of its three-pointers during the regular season, but didn’t come close to that against Irvine.
“I think we were 0for-3,000,” Fullerton Coach Bob Burton said afterward.
It wasn’t that bad. The Titans actually made five of 20, but it didn’t stop Burton from thinking his team had made Honda Center a danger zone.
“I was going to start putting helmets on people in the stands,” Burton quipped.
Irvine improved to 12-19 and advanced to Friday’s semifinal round. Santa Barbara also advanced to the semifinals with a 72-52 win over Pacific.
Top-seeded Long Beach State defeated UC Davis, 8046, in an evening session, and UC Riverside later fell to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 66-54.
Fullerton (21-9) didn’t make the weekend Big West cut but hopes another non-NCAA tournament out there might offer an invitation.
Irvine deserves credit for doing something it didn’t do in the first two meetings against the Titans — play defense. Fullerton won the regular-season games, 10094 and 92-84.
Irvine Coach Russell Turner decided to slow the
‘We’ve got smart players. That means we’re able to make adjustments.’
UC Irvine coach, whose team beat Cal State Fullerton, 66-59
pace this time and even play a little bit of zone defense.
His players put a collective clamp on Fullerton star D.J. Seeley, who scored 27 points in each of Fullerton’s two victories over the Anteaters while making all 10 of his three-point shots.
Fullerton, averaging 78.6 points a game, didn’t come close to that. “We’ve got smart players,” Turner said. “That means we’re able to make adjustments.”
Seeley was held to 12 points while misfiring on all four of his three-point shots and making only four of 13 shots overall.
— Russell Turner,
“We were overly prepared for what we were going to face,” said Irvine center Adam Folker, who finished with 12 points.
Irvine raced to a 12-4 lead, led at the half, and never trailed while making 10 of 22 three-point shots.
Fullerton had no answer for Irvine guard Chris Mcnealy, who finished with 24 points. Michael Wilder and Derick Flowers each chipped in 11points.
Burton thinks Fullerton might have suffered a hangover effect after last weekend’s upset win over Big West regular-season champion Long Beach State at Titan gym.
“We didn’t look as hungry and tough as we needed to be until it was too late,” Burton said.
Two Fullerton forwards certainly came to play: Orane Chin and Omondi Amoke. Chin made eight of 11 shots and finished with 20 points; Amoke set a Big West Tournament record with 21 rebounds.
Irvine, with the upset, is two wins from earning its first NCAA tournament berth.
UC Santa Barbara 72, Pacific 52: Santa Barbara, winner of the last two Big West tournament titles, is also two wins away from representing the Big West again in the NCAA tournament.
The Gauchos (19-9) cruised to a 20-point victory over Pacific (11-19).
Orlando Johnson led Santa Barbara with 15 points. Kyle Boswell had 12 points and James Nunnally added 11for the Gauchos.
“Obviously, we played really well,” Santa Barbara Coach Bob Williams said.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 66, UC Riverside 54: Cal Poly rallied after trailing Riverside at the half, 34-28.
The win sets up a matchup with Central Coast rival Santa Barbara.
“Can I have an hour before I have to think about them?” Mustangs Coach Joe Callero said.
Santa Barbara won both regular-season matchups, but they were close. The Gauchos won at San Luis Obispo, 58-57, on Jan. 2 and beat the Mustangs in Santa Barbara, 68-60, on Feb. 25.
Amaurys Fermin led Cal Poly with 16 points.