Big West Round-Up
Sunday, December 19, 2021
Official Bill Vinovich readies to ref Saturday Night contest between CSUN & Portland State, at The Matadome.
In case you don’t follow me on Twitter (where I write under the name Baron Zemo) I’m a huge fan of Law & Order. I love every installment of the franchise. Criminal Intent was my gateway into the series, as I’ve admired Vincent D’Onofrio ever since “Full Metal Jacket,” but I’ll watch them all. They’re kind of the new “Seinfeld” in the sense that you can find reruns on many different platforms & channels. You can have your “Bachelorette” or “Masked Singer,” but Law & Order: SVU is still appointment television for me. Ice-T and I go back to “New Jack City.” (Am I my brother’s keeper? YES I AM!) I like to think of myself as the Fin Tutuola of the Big West Conference. I even watched the Law & Order: Los Angeles installation, and am miffed that they’ve “Chuck Cunningham’d” that series to streaming oblivion (RIP Gavin O’Herlihy).
I was torn upon hearing they were re-booting Law & Order. Sometimes, you just need to leave well-enough alone. Seems like everything is a re-boot, re-launch or re-make these days. But, I choose to see this as a continuation of something that never should have stopped, so I’ll be there on February 24th, when the new version premieres. If you must know, I’m a huge Bobby Goren guy, but after that, you can flip a coin between Mike Logan and Ed Green. And, of course, who doesn’t love Lenny Briscoe? (RIP Jerry Orbach). So yes, I’ll have my TV Pizza, and enjoy it. Looking forward to the first episode of the new show, and I’ll be there, ready to dive in, snacks in hand.
With that, here’s the most recent Big West Round Up.
DECEMBER 17
Cal State Fullerton (5-5) 93 Redlands (5-3) 78 - GAME ARCHIVE (ESPN Plus) Game Recap from FullertonTitans.com
The Bulldogs hung tough the first twenty minutes, only down seven at the break, but the Titans pushed the lead to 17 with 13:55 to play. Redlands rallied back to within 10 with about 11 minutes to play, but Fullerton got to work, pushing the lead to 20 with 5:48 remaining. Redlands outscored Fullerton by five, down the stretch, but the Titans were just managing the lead, by that point. Redlands, a D3 team, played this game as an Exhibition.
Vincent Lee (25 points 10 rebounds) double-doubled for Fullerton on 11 of 13 shooting, while both E.J. Anosike and Damari Milstead had 17, Anosike had 5 assist, with Milstead adding 8 rebounds as well. The Bulldogs were able to stay in the game, shooting 11 of 27 from beyond the arc, 8 of 14 in the 2nd Half, led by Cal Poly Transfer Colin McCarthy, who was 6 of 6 from Long Distance.
Fresno State 83 (9-2) Cal Poly (3-8) 48 - ARCHIVE (Mountain West Network)
John Smith’s Mustangs came into play 3-7, but five of those seven losses had been by three points of less (total of nine points). On this night, however, the Fresno State battle station proved to be fully operational. The Bulldogs extended their home win streak to seven straight, and improved to 3-0 on the season, already having wins against CSUN and UC Irvine under their belts.
Cal Poly transfer Junior Ballard had eighteen against his former team, matching Orlando Robinson’s team high. Brantly Stevenson led the Mustangs with fourteen, while Kobe Sanders had nine points and seven rebounds. Cal Poly’s December 22nd match-up with #4 UCLA was canceled due to COVID, so their next action will be the Big West opener, against Long Beach State, December 30th.
DECEMBER 18
Colorado (Pac-12, 9-3) 60 CSU Bakersfield (4-4) 46
Game Recap from Go Runners (CSUB Department Website)
The Runners dropped their second straight on a two-game road swing, against Pac-12 opponent, Colorado. The Buffaloes held CSUB to just five made field goals in the first half, allowing just fifteen points. The Runners more than doubled that up, with 31 in the second half. Kaleb Higgins led CSUB with nine points, while Justin Edler-Davis had eight points, to go with eight rebounds. Keeshawn Barthelemy was one of three Colorado players in double figures, with twelve, as they shot 11 of 22 to finish the game, which was 24-15, at the end of the first half.
UC San Diego (6-4) 93 Cal Tech (7-3) 52
Game Recap from ucsdtritons.com
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS (via ucsdtritons.com)
The Tritons won their second in a row, and ran their record at home to 4-0, with a win over the D3 Beavers. Francis Nwaokorie led UCSD with twelve points, while Toni Rocak posted a double-double with ten points and eleven rebounds, in a game where all thirteen UCSD players scored. The Tritons ran out to a twenty-seven point lead, with 8:31 to play in the first half, and the Beavers never got closer than 24 points after that.
CSUN (4-6) 66 Portland State (Big Sky, 3-6) - VIDEO ARCHIVE (ESPN Plus)
Game Recap, from GoMatadors.com
Atin Wright saw his streak of thirty-four straight free throws end, but recorded a career-high twenty-eight points, as CSUN held off Portland State, 69-66, in a rematch of former Big Sky foes (CSUN was a member of the conference from 1996 to 2001). Brendan Harrick added sixteen points and nine rebounds for the Matadors, while Darius Beane (8 points 5 rebounds 2 steals) and Fidelis Okereke (5 points 5 rebounds 2 assists 2 steals 3 blocks) provided energy off the bench on the defensive side for CSUN.
The Matadors took a fifteen point lead on Brendan Harrick’s three, with 10:41 to play, but the Viking whittled away at the lead, until they themselves took the lead 64-63 on Marlon Ruffin’s three, with 2:19 left in regulation. But both Elijah Hardy and Atin Wright hit key free throws down the stretch to seal the win. CSUN ended a three-game losing string, winning at home for the first time since knocking off Non-D1 St. Katherine on November 24th. CSUN had played four of their last five on the road.
CSUN’s defense held the combination of James Jean-Marie and Michael Carter III to fifteen points on 3-14 shooting. The pair had scored a combined 58 points over their last two games. Marlon Ruffin led Portland State with 26, while Ian Burke also had ten off the bench for the Vikings. The Matadors are back in action on Wednesday, against NCCAA (Non-D1) Bethesda, 2pm.
Long Beach State (3-7) vs La Sierra (Non-D1) Canceled due to COVID
DECEMBER 19
UC Irvine (5-4) 54 Duquesne (Atlantic 10, 5-7) 76
Game Recap from UCIrvineSports.com
First of two-game pre-Christmas roadie for the Eaters. The game was played at St. Vincent-St. Mary HS in Akron, Ohio, which is the alma mater of Lakers’ LeBron James. Dukes took the lead, about six and half minutes into the game, and held it until the end, mostly by double-digits. UC Irvine drew as close as nine with 9:30 to play in regulation, but not any closer. They were coming off single digit losses, on the road, against Fresno State and USC.
Anteaters play Tuesday at Buffalo, to round out their non-league slate, before hosting CSUN to open Big West play, on December 30th.
UC Davis (6-3) 77 Pacific (WCC, 5-8) 67 - GAME ARCHIVE (WCC Network)
Game Recap from UCDavisAggies.com
The Aggies swept the back end of a home-and-home against WCC opponent Pacific, whom they’d defeated 63-57 at home, back on December 1st. The victory was the fourth in a row for the Aggies, since dropping a 79-60 clunker to D2 Academy of Art, on November 28th.
The Aggies host another WCC foe, Portland on December 22nd, before opening Big West play at home, against UC Riverside, on December 28th.
UCSB (6-4) 73 Florida A & M (SWAC, 2-9) 62 - GAME ARCHIVE (ESPN Plus)
Game Recap from UCSBGauchos.com
Gauchos snapped a two-game losing streak, after dropping consecutive games to WCC foes St Mary’s and Pacific. UCSB took the lead, on a jumper by Ajay Mitchell at 10:04 of the first half, and closed the first twenty on a 25-8 run.
UC Santa Barbara pushed the lead to 17, with 9:31 left in regulation, the Rattlers managed to rally down the stretch, but got no closer than eight, at 67-59, before falling by eleven. The Gauchos host Idaho State on December 22nd, before opening conference play at UCSD on December 30th.
Sacramento State (Big Sky, 4-6) vs. UC Riverside (6-4)