Comeback falls short as Cal Poly is eliminated at Big West by UC Irvine

LAS VEGAS - Sophomore forward Alimamy Koroma scored a game high 17 points and sophomore guard Colby Rogers added 12, but the 10th-seeded Cal Poly men's basketball program – which trailed No. 2 UC Irvine by 22 points during the first half of Thursday evening's Big West Conference Tournament quarterfinal matchup – saw its season come to a close with a 58-51 loss at the Michelob ULTRA Arena inside Mandalay Bay.
 
Koroma added a team leading seven rebounds for Cal Poly (4-20), which trailed UC Irvine (17-8) by 22 points with seven minutes remaining in the first half. Cal Poly, however, closed the period with an 18-3 run, trailed by seven at halftime and twice shortened the gap to three points during the second half before coming up short.
 
Cal Poly, which committed only eight turnovers, held UC Irvine to just 24 points during the final 27 minutes. However, 11 of those 24 points came from the free throw line. The Mustangs though shot just 29.8 (17-for-57) percent from the floor and knocked down only eight of 26 three-point attempts.
 
UC Irvine won both regular season matchups versus Cal Poly by an average of 21.0 points.  

Cal Poly reached the quarterfinals by eliminating seventh-seeded Cal State Fullerton in Tuesday's opening round, 87-82. The win marked Cal Poly's first Big West Tournament victory since 2014.
 
With Thursday's victory, UC Irvine advanced to its ninth successive semifinal appearance and will face either No. 3 UC Riverside or sixth-seeded Hawai'i. Those two programs met at 8 p.m. PT.
 
Off to a 1-for-7 shooting start on Thursday, Cal Poly trailed UC Irvine after four minutes, 9-2. The Anteaters then kept Cal Poly to just a three-pointer from senior guard Jamal Smith and two Koroma layups during the ensuing nine minutes as UC Irvine stretched the advantage to 31-9.
 
Kickstarted by a Koroma three-pointer, however, Cal Poly closed the final seven minutes of the opening period with the 18-3 sprint. Only a jumper from guard Dawson Baker and a free throw by center Brad Greene kept UC Irvine from being shut out as the Mustangs closed their deficit heading into the break, 34-27.
 
Cal Poly then received a three-pointer by senior wing Mark Crowe and two Rogers free throws to open the second half, brining UC Irvine's lead down to 37-32.
 
Still facing 43-38 deficit with 11-and-a-half minutes to play, Cal Poly got a Smith jumper to cut the gap to three points. Cal Poly once more trailed by a single possession at 45-42 after Rogers sank two free throws with seven-and-a-half minutes remaining.
 
A three-pointer from freshman forward Brantly Stevenson cut UC Irvine's advantage to 52-48 with three-and-a-half minutes to go. That was as close as Cal Poly closed down the stretch, however.

Article courtesy of Cal Poly Athletics.