Pacific Survives Titans’ Push

Bobby Brown’s “best look ever” arched toward the basket, carrying Cal State Fullerton’s hopes of upset. When the ball bounced harmlessly off the rim, what was being billed as the biggest Titan game in more than a decade ended as just a notch in Pacific’s season.

Brown’s near-miss on a three-point try was the final fling in a frantic game that left the 17th-ranked Tigers with a 92-88 win and a 20-game winning streak, the second-longest in the nation behind top-ranked Illinois’ 29-game streak.

After pushing Pacific (24-2, 17-0 Big West) to the limit, and feeding the emotion of the 3,576 at Titan Gym, Fullerton had one last heave when the Tigers failed to cover Brown with seven seconds left and the Titans trailing, 90-88.

“I though it was down,” Brown said. “All we wanted was a good look. That was the best look ever.”

Two free throws by Tyler Newton with one second left clinched the win.

“I don’t worry about last shots like that,” Pacific Coach Bob Thomason said. “If it goes in, it goes in. I don’t get anxious about it. I get anxious about my team.”

There was plenty for his team to be anxious about. The Titans (17-9, 11-6) jumped to an 18-7 lead in pursuit of their first upset of a ranked team since 1993.

Fullerton, which has only one starter taller than 6 feet 4, made 12 of 29 three-point shots and pushed the tempo at every opportunity.

“There was one point where I told my guys, ‘I don’t know what defense to use against them, you guys have any ideas?’ ” Thomason said.

What helped save the Tigers was Paris import Guillaume Yango, a 6-foot-9, 250-pound center who out-muscled the smaller Titans.

Yango scored 23 of his game-high 27 points in the second half. He scored five consecutive points to give Pacific a 86-84 lead with 1:14 left to blunt a late Titan push.

A 9-0 run ended with steals and layups by Ralphy Holmes and Brown, giving the Titans a 84-79 lead with three minutes left. But the Titans missed three shots and turned the ball over twice on their next four possessions.

Holmes finished with 24 points and Yaphett King 22 to lead Fullerton.

Chris Foster

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Cal State Northridge 70, UC Riverside 60 -- Joseph Frazier scored 17 points and Ian Boylan scored 15 on the road for the Matadors (17-11, 12-5), who were down by one, 32-31, at halftime but began the second half with a 20-4 run.

The loss, combined with Long Beach State’s win, eliminated Riverside (9-18, 4-13) from contention for the eighth and final spot in the conference tournament.

UC Irvine 72, UC Santa Barbara 63 -- Ross Schraeder scored 21 points, including three three-pointers in the final three minutes, at home for Irvine (14-12, 7-10), which secured a spot in the conference tournament.

UC Santa Barbara (10-16, 7-10) had already clinched a spot in the tournament.

Irvine’s victory ended a six-game losing streak against the Gauchos that extended back to 2002.

Long Beach State 71, Cal Poly 52 -- Kevin Houston scored a career-high 18 points and Shawn Hawkins had 16 to lead Long Beach State to a home victory.

The win, coupled with UC Riverside’s loss, qualifies Long Beach State for its first conference tournament appearance since 2002.

The 49ers (9-19, 6-11) have won seven of their last eight games after dropping 11 of 12.

The Mustangs (5-21, 3-14) have dropped 15 of 17.