Last-Minute Heroics Give Titans Win

All but three of Cal State Fullerton’s Big West Conference games this season were decided in the last minute. Saturday night’s was no different.

The Titans blew a 14-point first-half lead, but rallied in overtime to take an 88-85 victory over visiting Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

It was the fifth time this season that Fullerton, 10-18 overall and 8-10 in the Big West, won a conference game in overtime. The Titans secured the No. 6 seeding in next week’s conference tournament at the Anaheim Convention Center against Utah State, the No. 3 seeded team, which beat visiting Pacific, 75-70, Saturday. Fullerton is 0-2 against Utah State this season.

Guard Fedi Holm-Hadulla gave Fullerton the lead for good, 79-76, with a three-point basket from the left baseline with 55 seconds remaining in overtime. Anthony Bolton, who finished with 24 points, helped keep the Mustangs at bay by making six free throws in the final 43 seconds.

San Luis Obispo grabbed its first lead, 55-53 on a three-point basket by guard Jason Allen with 10 minutes 33 seconds remaining and expanded that to as many as four points. But Fullerton rallied, and got an awkward three-point basket in the final second by Bolton that tied the score, 72-72.

“I missed one of those against Pacific,” Bolton said of the Titans’ 62-61 loss on Feb. 1. “So I was due. I had to redeem myself with my teammates.”

Shane Schilling scored 32 points for San Luis Obispo.

The Mustangs missed 12 of their first 14 shots and trailed, 20-7, with nine minutes gone after Fullerton’s Pape Sow scored on a dunk over two defenders. Sow finished with 16 points and 17 rebounds for Fullerton.

-- Paul McLeod

UC Irvine 95, Long Beach State 60 -- The only thing that could be gained for the Anteaters was a shot of momentum heading into the Big West tournament.

In his final home game, Jordan Harris scored 20 of his 23 points in the first half and center Adam Parada led a runaway second half for Irvine (19-8, 13-5 Big West) before a near-capacity crowd at the Bren Center.

Irvine had already clinched the No. 2 spot in the conference tournament, and the Anteaters will play Cal State Northridge in the opening round Thursday. But they can head into it with renewed confidence after last week’s loss at UC Santa Barbara that effectively ended their chance at a third consecutive Big West regular-season title.

Harris led the Anteaters out of a nine-point deficit. He made eight of 10 shots in nearly every manner to charge up the crowd.

The 6-foot-5 forward scored 12 points in a 21-5 run that helped Irvine erase a nine-point deficit and take a 43-35 halftime lead. At one point, Harris scored eight consecutive points for the Anteaters. “I wanted to have a good game in my last game here,” he said.

Parada finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds and had 13 points, including his second three-pointer of the season, in a 26-2 run to start the second half.

Tony Darden had 27 points for Long Beach (5-22, 4-14), which had its worst season since 1984-85. The 49ers will miss the conference tournament for the first time in 17 years.

-- Eric Stephens

Cal State Northridge 86, Idaho 78 -- Curtis Slaughter had 26 points -- eight in the second overtime -- to help the Matadors win at Moscow, Idaho. Northridge (14-14, 8-10 Big West) avenged a 73-66 home overtime loss to the Vandals (13-14, 9-9) on Jan. 4.

Chris Davis had 21 points and Armand Thomas had a game-high 12 rebounds for Northridge. For the Vandals, Dwayne Williams had a game-high 28 points, including six three-point baskets and Tyrone Hayes had 25 points.

Slaughter made the tying basket that sent the game into double overtime and his three-point basket with 48 seconds remaining in regulation tied it at 57. But neither team could score and the game went into overtime.

Ian Boylan, Northridge’s leading scorer at 15.8 points per game, left the game with 3:23 left in regulation after suffering a broken and dislocated nose when he collided with Powell for a loose ball.

UC Santa Barbara 70, UC Riverside 55 -- Branduinn Fullove had 18 points and nine rebounds to help the Gauchos (17-12, 14-4 Big West) clinch the Big West regular-season title with a win at Riverside.

Santa Barbara started to pull away with 11:31 remaining, using a 17-2 run over six minutes to take the largest lead of the game at 49-33.

UC Riverside (6-18, 5-13) was able to answer back with a 7-0 run with 6:54 remaining to cut the lead to 53-47. But Santa Barbara scored the next seven points to finish off the Highlanders.

Occidental 80, Aurora, Ill. 61 -- Finn Rebassoo had 18 points and eight rebounds and Dallin Wilson had 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists to help host Occidental (24-2) win in an NCAA Division III tournament second-round game. Charles Simmons scored 18 points and 10 rebounds for Aurora (24-6), which shot 32% from the field.

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WOMEN

Wisconsin Eau Claire 81, Chapman 45 -- Mel Bongiorno scored 20 points for the Panthers (17-10), who fell behind, 13-2, in the first 3:12 and never recovered at Eau Claire, Wis. in an NCAA Division III tournament second-round game. Kristi Channing scored 23 points for Wisconsin Eau Claire (29-1), which led by as many as 41 in the second half.