Fullove Keeps Santa Barbara Ahead
Branduinn Fullove didn’t start Saturday night for UC Santa Barbara after suffering a concussion earlier in the week, but he ended up giving Cal State Northridge plenty of headaches.
Fullove, a junior forward, scored a game-high 19 points and had six rebounds to help the Gauchos remain in first place in the Big West Conference with a 67-58 victory before 1,582 at Northridge.
Fullove missed most of Thursday’s victory against Pacific after a collision with a Tiger player that left teeth marks in his scalp. It wasn’t decided until shortly before the game that he would play Saturday.
“I felt pretty good,” said Fullove, who leads his team in scoring. “Obviously the win helps a lot.”
With the score tied, 29-29, Fullove made a series of big plays to give Santa Barbara the lead for good. In the span of a minute, he scored consecutive baskets on a jump shot and a layup, drew a charge, and passed to Cecil Brown for a layup and a 35-29 lead early in the second half.
Santa Barbara, 13-10 overall and 10-3 in the Big West, remained a game ahead of Utah State and UC Irvine with its fourth consecutive victory. The Gauchos, who made 22 of 30 free throws, led by as many as 12 and never trailed in the second half.
It was the fourth loss in five games for Northridge (10-12, 4-8), which dropped into a tie for eighth place and the last spot in the conference tournament. Four of the Matadors’ final six games are on the road.
Northridge made only 22 of 59 shots (37.3%), including five of 23 from three-point range. Forward Chris Davis led the Matadors with 14 points and 10 rebounds but left the game with 2:30 left after injuring his right ankle.
A seesaw first half ended in a 27-27 tie after Northridge’s Ian Boylan worked inside for a basket with two seconds left.
Rob Fernas
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UC Irvine 65, Idaho 52 -- Jordan Harris had a game-high 18 points and the Anteaters used a 12-0 second-half run to win at Moscow, Idaho. Irvine (15-7, 9-4 Big West) won its fourth in a row and defeated Idaho (10-12, 6-7) for the seventh consecutive time.
Mike Hood had 16 points and Adam Parada 11 for Irvine.
After Irvine tied the score, 44-44, Tyrone Hayes -- Idaho’s leading scorer -- fouled out for the second consecutive game. Hayes picked up his fourth foul and then a technical for arguing with an official.
Irvine made two of the four ensuing free throws and scored eight more points to make it 54-44 with 6:54 left. The Vandals never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.
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Utah State 95, Long Beach State 61 -- Spencer Nelson had 21 points and nine rebounds to lead the Aggies (18-6, 9-4 Big West) at Logan, Utah. Freshman Jabril Hodges scored 17 points for Long Beach State (4-18, 3-10).
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San Diego 73, Loyola Marymount 51-- Jason Keep scored 23 points to help host San Diego (13-10, 7-3) pull away after leading by only seven at halftime. Loyola Marymount (10-16, 4-7) shot 32% from the field.