With the season nearing its conclusion, Cal Poly Men’s Basketball is on the bubble of the Big West Championships Tournament, with a rivalry game against UC Santa Barbara on deck Thursday, Feb. 27 at the Thunderdome in Santa Barbara.
The Mustangs (11-17, 5-11 Big West) are coming off an overtime win at home against UC Riverside to boost their tournament hopes.
Cal Poly currently is half a game back of CSU Bakersfield (12-17, 6-11 Big West), with a home matchup on Saturday, March 1 that could decide who goes to Las Vegas for the Big West tournament.
The Gauchos (18-10, 10-7 Big West) handled business on the road against Long Beach State 58-52.
Taking down the Highlanders
Cal Poly got a game that head coach Mike DeGeorge called “almost a must-win” against a strong UC Riverside team.
Down by eight with two minutes remaining, the Mustangs stormed back to draw even with less than 20 seconds left, forcing overtime on two foul shots by Owen Koonce.
From there it was the Jarred Hyder and Peter Bandelj show, as they combined for 15 points in overtime and Cal Poly left with a 112-100 victory.
Hyder had 25 points, with Bandejl pouring in a career high 24 alongside him. Freshman Cayden Ward had 16 points off the bench.
Last time against the Gauchos
At home against UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly was fueled by a 22-point second half by Koonce, who tied the game at 72-72 with 15 seconds left.
That was enough time for Stephan Swenson to launch an absolute dagger into the home crowd’s hearts, winning the game on a 30 foot buzzer beater.
In that game, the Gauchos were able to limit most of Cal Poly’s offense, with only Bandejl and Koonce scoring more than eight points.
Despite that Cal Poly was in it until the end, as they could limit the UC Santa Barbara bench to just six points.
Cal Poly will try to keep its tournament hopes alive against the Gauchos on Thursday, Feb. 27, at 6 p.m. inside the Thunderdome.
