As time ticked down on Cal Poly’s 102-92 victory over Long Beach Thursday night, relief washed throughout Mott Athletics Center.
While Cal Poly was in the driver seat to make the Big West tournament coming into the game, they weren’t in yet.
That changed when the Mustangs (13-16, 9-8 Big West) clinched their spot at the Big West Tournament in Henderson, Nev. and subsequently eliminated the Beach (8-21, 4-13 Big West) from postseason contention with their Thursday night win.
Cal Poly and Long Beach were even to start the game, the teams trading baskets at high pace.
Recently the trend at home for Cal Poly has been to enter halftime down, then use a second half surge to end up taking the victory,
But it was flipped on Thursday night, with Cal Poly using a surge at the end of the first half to take a 48-40 lead and momentum into the half time break.
Jess Esso Essis was the main engine of the Mustang attack, already surpassing his career high total with 15 first half points.
If anyone on the floor was going to shoot Long Beach back into the game, it was the Beach’s leading scorer Gavin Sykes. Sykes had a quiet first half, going just 1-7 from the field. Sykes started to bring Long Beach back into the game, but he picked up his fourth foul early in the second half and had to sit for a large portion of the half.
During that time Cal Poly’s lead blossomed, getting as high as 15 points. But when Sykes got back into the game, things changed.
A couple Sykes shots got the Beach in rhythm and they started to close the gap.
Cal Poly responded, mainly from sophomore guard Cayden Ward’s 20 second half points and timely defensive stops. Sykes finished the night with 28 points
Time more or less ran out on the Beach as the teams became deadlocked, with the final score reading 102-92.
“I was just proud of their growth, when we lost to Santa Barbara by 40 we were losing confidence,” head coach Mike DeGeorge said. “It was concerning because we really had been getting better and growing. If you lose confidence it gets really challenging. It says a lot about this group that they dug in and stayed committed to our principles.”
Esso Essis finished with a career high 15 points, all in the first half, and Hamad Mousa finished with game-leading 29.
“I feel like my teammates find me a lot of open shots, “ Mousa said. “We moved the ball in and out, attacking the rim and shooting threes.”
Now the field is set for the Big West Tournament. Joining Cal Poly will be CSUN, Hawaii, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego and Fullerton. Although the field is set, seeding is still at play for all teams as the Big West regular season winds down.
“I think we are just going to play the same type of game we have played since Irvine,” Esso Essis said. “ We’re not going to change philosophy, we’re just going to stay hungry for Vegas.”
The Mustangs’ next matchup is UC San Diego on the road, a team Cal Poly beat at Mott Gym in their last matchup on New Years Day. The Tritons are in a tie for first in the Big West at 10-7, a win would catapult the Mustangs into contention with the top four teams with the potential to earn a first round bye.
That matchup tips off Saturday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.