Big West Round-Up
December 15th, 2021
Even on a rainy Tuesday in So Cal, the Big West marches on. Two teams in action, as the Aggies of UC Davis head up to Corvallis, to take on the Beavers, while UC Santa Barbara travels to Stockton, to face Pacific. The Tigers were in the PCAA/Big West from 1971 to 2013, before returning to the WCC, from whence they came. (It was called the WCAC during their first run) Of course, their history is in the Big West. Dell Demps, Michael Olowokandi, even Ben Rishwain. Two Pacific coaches (Dick Edwards and Stan Morrison) leap frogged into the then Pac-8 (Cal) and Pac-10 (USC), based on their performances in Stockton. Bob Thomason and Pat Douglass, who were once backcourt mates under Dick Edwards for the Tigers, both later coached in the conference, at Pacific and UC Irvine, respectively. Thomason took the Tigers to five NCAA berths, including an appearance their last year in the conference, back in 2013. A bittersweet farewell for the league, as they moved to the WCC for the 2014 season.
Three games on Wednesday, December 15th, with all three conference squads on the road. UC Irvine heads to Galen Center, to square off against USC, while CSU Bakersfield is at Abilene Christian, a member of the newly-reconfigured WAC, and UC San Diego takes on Summit League foe, Denver.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14th
UC Santa Barbara (5-4) 71 Pacific (5-6) 80
Pacific outscored UC Santa Barbara 18-9 in overtime, making seven straight free throws down the stretch, to seal the victory. Alphonso Anderson and Greg Outlaw both had 15 for the Tigers, while going a combined 6 of 8 from lomg-distance. Nick Blake and Khaleb Wilson-Rouse both added 14 for Pacific. Ajare Sanni led the Gauchos with 18, and Amadou Sow had 11 points, 9 rebounds and two blocks in 33 minutes. Josh Pierre-Louis had 14 points on 7 of 10 shooting for UC Santa Barbara.
The Tigers out-rebounded the Gauchos 37 to 29, and had nine more second chance points, and eight more points in the paint. UCSB rounds out its non-league slateby hosting Florida A&M and Idaho State. They then begin defense of their Big West crown on the road, against UCSD and UC Irvine.
FULL VIDEO REPLAY (via WCC NETWORK)
UC Davis (5-3) 71 Oregon State (1-9) 64
The Aggies dealt the Beavers their ninth straight loss, winning in Corvallis, behind 27 points from Ezra Manjon. It was their second win in their last seven match-ups against the Pac 12, as they also knocked off Washington State, 81-67, December 2nd, 2017. Jim Les teams have always played the Pac-12 tough, four out of their last five losses to Pac schools came by seven points or less, including a 70-68 heartbreaker at McKale Center, against Arizona, back on December 22nd, 2018, as TJ Shorts went for 25 against the Wildcats.
Oregon State led 30-28 at the half, but the Aggies outscored the Beavers 43-34 in the second half. UC Davis took the lead with 18:21 to play, on a transition lay-up by Ade Adebayo, pushing the lead to as many as 13, on Ezra Manjon's jumper, with 13:17 to play, making the score 50-37. Oregon State got as close as 5 with 1:12 to play, but the Aggies were able to close them out, Manjon himself delivering the coup de grace with two late free throws.
In addition to his 27, Manjon also added 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal. Caleb Fuller added 15 points for UC Davis, while Elijah Pepper had 7 points and 10 rebounds. The Aggies shot 57% from the field, in the 2nd Half, as they secured the victory. Junior Jarod Lucas had 14 for Oregon State, while Junior Dashawn Davis chipped in with 13 points and 7 rebounds. Junior Forward Ahmad Rand registered a double-double for the Beavers with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Beavers haven't won since their November 9th season opener against Portland State.
Here are some audio highlights from Scott Marsh’s call on 1140AM KHTK
The win over a Power 5 opponent served as a bit of redemption for the Aggies, who dropped a 79-60 decision to D2 Academy of Art on November 28th. You could argue that no one has gotten more out of his talent that Head Coach Jim Les, over the course of his tenure in Davis. The Aggies head to Stockton on December 19th to take on Pacific, and host Portland on December 22nd, before starting their Big West schedule against UC Riverside on December 28th.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15th
UC Irvine (5-3) 61 #10 USC (11-0) 66
Maybe the Oregon State score was a warning alarm for the Trojans of USC. Andy Enfield's team came in 10-0, with two wins over Big West teams (CSUN 11/9 & Long Beach State 12/12). The Beach hung in against USC a couple days before, losing a 73-62 game, that was tied at halftime.
The Eaters led after the first twenty minutes, 36-28. The Trojans tied it at 40 with 11:32 left in regulation, and went ahead for good, on Chevez Goodwin's FT at 7:29. Colin Welp, who played masterfully for Irvine, got them as close as two twice, at 3:08 with a three-pointer, and a lay-up with fifty-three seconds left. Welp led all scorers with his 24, while Chevez Goodwin led USC with 23, and Isaiah Mobley had 22, with 12 rebounds. The UCI defense limited Drew Peterson to just 4 points, on 1 of 10 shooting, but he did manage to collect 7 rebounds and deal out 5 assists. DJ Davis had a dozen points off the bench for UC Irvine, while Austin Johnson had 10 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks.
Highlights from the UC Irvine Radio Call, by Trent Rush on KUCI 88.9 fM
USC had a huge rebounding advantage (46-33), and outscored UC Irvine by 10 points in the paint. The Eaters managed to stay competitive, despite shooting just 37.5% from the floor, but USC locked down in the 2nd Half, limiting UCI to 32%, while Irvine held the Trojans to under 41% from the field for the game. The Anteaters were looking for their first win over a Pac-12 team since November 14th of 2013, when they knocked off Washington, 86-72. The loss to USC makes it thirteen in a row against the Pac-12, including a loss in the 2019 NCAA Tournament to the Oregon Ducks.
Eaters head to Akron, OH to take on Duquesne on December 19th, and play at Buffalo on December 21st, before returning to Orange County, to start Big West play on December 30th.
CSU Bakersfield (4-3) 59 Abilene Christian (7-2) 69
FULL VIDEO ARCHIVE (ESPN Plus)
Kaleb Higgins led the Runners with 17 points, while Justin McCall had 11 points and 8 rebounds in 32 minutes, as CSUB fell to Abilene Christian, out the WAC. The Runners held the Cougars to 39% from the field, but ACU made up for it from the free throw line, where they cashed in on 30 of 40 opportunities. Bakersfield shot 39% from the field, and made eleven of twenty free throw attempts. The two squads combined for 45 turnovers on the evening, as CSUB turned it over 25 times, leading to 16 Abilene Christian points. The Cougars led by six at the half, and pushed the lead to as many as thirteen, at the under four minute timeout. The Runners got as close as a point, 40-39 with 13:08 to play, but never any closer. The loss ended a four-game winning streak for the Runners, who close out the non-conference part of their schedule with a road trip to Boulder, on December 18th to take on the Buffs, before hosting Dartmouth at Icardo Center on December 21st. They open Big West play at home, on December 30th.
UC San Diego (5-4) 56 Denver (4-9) 64
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS (Courtesy Altitude)
The Tritons dropped their 4th in the last 5 games, on the road against the Pioneers. Bryce Pope had 13 points and four rebounds for UCSD, while both Kaden Rasheed (11) and Jace Roquemore (10) reached double figures. The Tritons shot 33% for the game, including 25% in the first half, when they went 7 for 28. Despite this, it was only a four-point game at the intermission, 24-20.
Denver led throughout the second half, stretching the lead to as many as a dozen, with six minutes remaining in regulation. KJ Hunt led Denver with 24 points, shooting 9 of 18 form the floor, while Touko Tainamo had twelve points and nine rebounds, shooting 6 of 9 from the field. UCSD stayed in the game, by scoring nineteen points off of twenty Denver turnovers. Denver out-rebounded UCSD 44-28, outscoring the Tritons by sixteen in the paint, and by eight on second chance opportunities.
UCSD hosts Cal Tech on Saturday, rounding out their non-conference schedule agains crosstown rival San Diego State 6-3), on Wednesday, December 22nd, at Viejas. They'll open Big West play against UC Santa Barbara, December 30th, at home.