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BYU-Hawaii rolls over Cal St. San Bernardino, set for rematch with Cal Poly Pomona
BYU-Hawaii rolls over Cal St. San Bernardino, set for rematch with
Cal Poly Pomona in title game Monday
BELLINGHAM, WA – Sophomore guard Jet Chang poured in a game-high 19 points as Brigham Young University Hawaii advanced to its third consecutive NCAA II West Region Championship game on Saturday evening by thumping second-seed Cal State San Bernardino 77-58 in Bellingham, WA.
Cal Poly Pomona vs. BYU-Hawaii (Live TV Broadcast)
The semifinal victory sets up a rematch with Cal Poly Pomona on Monday at 7 p.m. at Western Washington University for the West Region Championship and a trip to the NCAA II Elite Eight in Springfield, MA, starting March 24.
Last season Cal Poly Pomona defeated BYU-Hawaii 59-58 in Laie, HI, to claim the West Region crown. The Broncos eventually landed in the finals where they lost to Findlay (OH) in the National Championship.
To earn a return trip to the regional title game, fourth-seed Cal
Poly Pomona had to defeat top-seed and host Western Washington
76-75 in overtime on Saturday night. The Broncos beat PacWest
Co-Champion Dixie State on Friday in the quarterfinals 71-62.
BYU-Hawaii – the sixth seed in the regional tournament - improved to 22-5 overall by winning its 15th straight game.
The victory by the Seasiders over the second-seed Coyotes’ (23-8) marks the second time in three seasons that BYU-Hawaii has sent Cal State San Bernardino packing from the NCAA II West Regional.
In 2008 the Seasiders beat the Coyotes 67-63 during the quarterfinal round in Anchorage, AK. Alaska Anchorage ultimately bested the Seasiders in the regional finale 73-67.
Chang was one of four BYU-Hawaii players to reach twin-figures on Saturday night. Junior guard Marcus Whippy scored 17 points, while senior guard Virgil Buensuceso contributed 16. Senior forward/center Lucas Alves pitched in 14.
Cal State San Bernardino was led by guard Corey Caston’s 16
points and forward Lawrence Tyson’s 12.
BYU-Hawaii led 27-22 with 4:19 left in the first half, but closed the first frame with 12 straight points – including the final five by Chang – to pry open a 39-22 halftime advantage. The margin was never less than 14 throughout the second half.
The Seasider defense limited the Coyotes to just 30.8% (8 for 26) shooting from the field in the first half and 37.9% (22-of-58) for the game. They only connected on 5 of 25 (20.0%) attempts from beyond the arc throughout the contest.
The Seasiders scored 30 points off of turnovers in the game, including 24 in the first half, leaving Seasider Head Coach Ken Wagner smiling about his defense.
“We cause a lot of turnovers and that is a critical
statistic because we can get easy points,” he said.
“Hopefully we continue to do what we do. We are rested and we
will be ready to go on Monday.”
Cal State San Bernardino posted a season-high 23 turnovers helping boost the offensive surge by the Seasiders.
“The turning point was the last 4:00 of the first half during the 12-0 run for BYU-Hawaii,” Jeff Oliver, the Coyotes’ head coach, said. “They were not the preseason number one team by a fluke - they are a talented team and are not playing like a sixth seed.”
