March 13, 2010
Box Score
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Center Dwayne Fells scored on a post-up with 0.6 seconds left in overtime, lifting Cal Poly Pomona to a 76-75 victory over Western Washington University in a NCAA Division II Men's Basketball West Regional semifinal game Saturday on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.
Cal Poly Pomona, the defending regional champion, improved to 25-6 with its 17th victory in the last 18 games. The Broncos will face Brigham Young University-Hawaii on Monday (7 p.m.) in a rematch of the 2009 West Region championship game. Forward Austin Swift led CPP, which reached the NCAA II championship game last year, with 23 points.
The Vikings, ranked No.15 in the final regular-season National Association of Basketball Coaches/NCAA II Top 25 Poll and the No.1 seed in the region, finished its season 26-6.
Forward Derrick Webb (Sr., Port Orchard/South Kitsap), who had a game-high 23 points and eight rebounds, gave Western a 75-74 lead with 19.6 seconds left on two free throws.
But after the Vikings committed two fouls that forced inbound passes, the final one with 3.5 seconds left, the Broncos got the ball to Fells on the right block, and he turned and banked a shot off the glass for the winning points.
The Broncos also needed a basket with 0.6 seconds left to force the overtime. Western guard Morris Anderson (Sr., Federal Way/Decatur) made two free throws with 10.2 seconds to play, but Swift hit a driving layin to tie the game at 69-69.
Forward Zach Bruce (Sr., Oceanside, CA) had 15 points for Western and forward Rory Blanche (So., Ashland, OR) added 10 off the bench. The Vikings shot 55.6 percent (30-of-54) from the field and committed just five turnovers, scoring the second-most points allowed by CPP this season.
Forward Donnelle Booker had 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds for CPP, and Fells added 11 points and seven rebounds. The Broncos shot 56.9 percent (33-of-58) from the field, with Swift, Booker, and Fells combining to go 22-of-34.
Neither team ever led by seven points. CPP shot 70.8 percent (17-of-24) from the field in the first half, but needed a 3-pointer by Booker at the end of the period to hold a 37-36 lead, as the Vikings were also hot, hitting 57.1 percent (30-of-54) from the floor.
It was just the second loss in 16 home contests this season for Western.
Vikings' season ends on buzzer-beater
BEN FLETCHER - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
You know it's a great game when the last team to score a bucket comes away with the win.
The Western Washington men's basketball team twice hit huge free throws to put the Vikings up with just seconds left on the clock. But Cal Poly Pomona answered with a basket each time, the second of which came with just .6 seconds in overtime and gave the Broncos a 76-75 win on Saturday, March 13, during a NCAA Division II West Regional semifinal.
Cal Poly Pomona, which improved to 25-6 with its 17th win in 18 games, will play BYU-Hawaii, which rolled over Cal State San Bernardino 77-58 in Saturday's other semifinal, in the regional final, set for 7 p.m. Monday, March 15. The winner of that game will move on to the Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass. on March 24-25, 27.
The loss ended Western's season at 26-6. One of the biggest men on the court, 6-foot-8 senior post Zach Bruce, cried.
"It's just a tough way to lose," said senior forward Derrick Webb, who poured in 23 points and eight rebounds but was left burying his head in his arms after the game.
Webb's biggest points came in the overtime period. His double-pump jumper with 1:20 left in OT to beat the shot clock gave Western a 73-71 lead, and then he added two free throws following a 3-point bucket by Pomona's Mitchel Anderson with just 19.6 seconds left to put the Vikings up by one.
But after the Vikings committed two fouls that forced an inbound pass, the Broncos got the ball down to Dwayne Fells on the low post. He banked a well-contested shot in with .6 seconds left.
"We played good D," Webb said. "They just made a strong play and he made the layup. Big shot for them."
The Vikings had their share of big shots, too.
Morris Anderson hit two free throws - his first attempts of the game - to put the Vikings up 69-67 with 10.2 seconds left in regulation. Western's big men Bruce, who finished with 15 points and six rebounds, and Dave Vanderjagt, who had nine points and four rebounds, accounted for the Vikings' final eight points up to Anderson's free throws.
But the Broncos' Austin Swift scored on a driving layup to tie the game 69-69 with .6 seconds left and send it to overtime.
The first half was a battle, but there were signs Western was ready to make a move.
Anderson was held scoreless in the first half, going 0 for 2 from the 3-point line, but also notched six assists. And Vikings coach Brad Jackson had to be excited his team shot 57 percent from the field heading into the break, led by Webb's 12 points on 5 for 6 shooting and Bruce's nine points on 4 for 8 shooting.
Except the Broncos were even better, shooting a blistering 70 percent from the field. Donnelle Booker led the way with 13 points on 6 for 8 shooting while Austin Swift added nine points and Dwayne Fells had six.
When Pomona got an open shot, they drilled it. Booker's 3-pointer at the buzzer gave the Broncos a 37-36 lead to take into the break.
Pomona failed to cool down to start the second half, scoring six straight points as Western missed four shots in a row to take a 43-36 lead just two minutes in. But the Vikings battled back to a 53-53 tie when Anderson hit his first basket of the night, a 3-pointer, at the second half's 11:40 mark. Rory Blanche hit an 8-foot jumper on the Vikings next possession to take its first lead of the half, 55-53.
But Cal Poly Pomona, the defending regional champion, got the final bucket. Swift led the Broncos with 22 points while Booker added 15 points and nine rebounds and Fells had 11 points and seven rebounds.
Western got 10 points off the bench from Rory Blanche while Anderson finished with five points, nine assists and two steals.
