Friday, March 14
Henderson, Nev.
8:30 p.m.
16-19,8-12Big West
78
vs
96
UC Irvine
28-5,17-3Big West
1
2
F
Cal Poly
39
39
78
UC Irvine
38
58
96
Team Stats
CPO
Irvine
FG%
.460
.557
3FG%
.464
.500
FT%
.700
.818
RB
23
41
TO
11
13
STL
6
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballPG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Ian Billings Photography
Mustangs Eliminated from Big West Championship in Semifinals by UC Irvine
3/15/2025 12:19:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HENDERSON, Nev. – Mac Riniker scored a team high 22 points in his final collegiate appearance and Jarred Hyder added 15 in his last career game as the Cal Poly men's basketball program – bidding to become the first team in 17 years to reach the Big West Championship title matchup with a fourth game in four days – was eliminated in Friday evening's semifinal by second-seeded UC Irvine, 96-78.
Freshman guard Peter Bandelj added 11 points and senior guard Isaac Jessup – also in his final collegiate appearance – recorded 10 for seventh-seeded Cal Poly (16-19), which led UC Irvine (28-5) by one at halftime before the Anteaters shot 61.8 (21-for-34) percent from the floor during the second half to pull away.
Playing its third tournament game in 72 hours, Cal Poly reached its first Big West Championship semifinal in 11 years by eliminating sixth-seeded UC Davis during Wednesday's opening round and third-seeded UC Riverside in Thursday's quarterfinal. Cal Poly had the opportunity to become the lowest seeded side to reach the Big West Championship final since the 2014 Mustangs – also a No. 7 seed – captured the championship.
With its victory Friday, UC Irvine will face top-seeded UC San Diego in Saturday's title game.
Hyder finished his final year as Cal Poly's all-time single season leader with 99 three-pointers and 279 three-point attempts. Jessup, meanwhile, finished second all-time with 95 three-pointers.
Koonce, who averaged a team leading 16.9 points per game, finished with 593 total points – the second highest single season mark in program history.
Under first-year head coach Mike DeGeorge, Cal Poly's 16 victories during the season marked a 12-win improvement from the previous year and the program's highest total since finishing 18-14 to close the 2012-13 campaign. Entering the Big West Championship having won five straight, Cal Poly closed the year with victories in 10 of its final 15 matchups.
Friday evening, Cal Poly opened up a 15-9 lead after nine minutes before the Anteaters hit back with successive three-pointers to tie the matchup. The Mustangs next broke a 17-17 deadlock with a Jessup jumper and back-to-back three-pointers from freshman guard Cayden Ward to go up 25-17 seven minutes before the break.
UC Irvine, however, produced a 13-4 run to overtake the Mustangs at 30-29 with two-and-a-half minutes remaining. The lead changed hands three more times down the stretch before a Hyder jumper with four seconds to go handed Cal Poly the 39-38 advantage heading into the locker room.
Hyder halved an early 49-43 UC Irvine lead to begin the second half with a three-point, but another one from Anteaters guard Myles Che and a layup by forward Bent Leuchten moments later allowed the Anteaters to further their lead to 58-48 with 14-and-a-half minutes remaining.
Three-pointers from Jesup and Bandelj helped Cal Poly twice cut the gap to five midway through the half, but a 14-4 run from the Anteaters handed UC Irvine an 81-66 edge with six-and-a-half minutes to play.
Freshman guard Peter Bandelj added 11 points and senior guard Isaac Jessup – also in his final collegiate appearance – recorded 10 for seventh-seeded Cal Poly (16-19), which led UC Irvine (28-5) by one at halftime before the Anteaters shot 61.8 (21-for-34) percent from the floor during the second half to pull away.
Playing its third tournament game in 72 hours, Cal Poly reached its first Big West Championship semifinal in 11 years by eliminating sixth-seeded UC Davis during Wednesday's opening round and third-seeded UC Riverside in Thursday's quarterfinal. Cal Poly had the opportunity to become the lowest seeded side to reach the Big West Championship final since the 2014 Mustangs – also a No. 7 seed – captured the championship.
With its victory Friday, UC Irvine will face top-seeded UC San Diego in Saturday's title game.
Hyder finished his final year as Cal Poly's all-time single season leader with 99 three-pointers and 279 three-point attempts. Jessup, meanwhile, finished second all-time with 95 three-pointers.
Koonce, who averaged a team leading 16.9 points per game, finished with 593 total points – the second highest single season mark in program history.
Under first-year head coach Mike DeGeorge, Cal Poly's 16 victories during the season marked a 12-win improvement from the previous year and the program's highest total since finishing 18-14 to close the 2012-13 campaign. Entering the Big West Championship having won five straight, Cal Poly closed the year with victories in 10 of its final 15 matchups.
Friday evening, Cal Poly opened up a 15-9 lead after nine minutes before the Anteaters hit back with successive three-pointers to tie the matchup. The Mustangs next broke a 17-17 deadlock with a Jessup jumper and back-to-back three-pointers from freshman guard Cayden Ward to go up 25-17 seven minutes before the break.
UC Irvine, however, produced a 13-4 run to overtake the Mustangs at 30-29 with two-and-a-half minutes remaining. The lead changed hands three more times down the stretch before a Hyder jumper with four seconds to go handed Cal Poly the 39-38 advantage heading into the locker room.
Hyder halved an early 49-43 UC Irvine lead to begin the second half with a three-point, but another one from Anteaters guard Myles Che and a layup by forward Bent Leuchten moments later allowed the Anteaters to further their lead to 58-48 with 14-and-a-half minutes remaining.
Three-pointers from Jesup and Bandelj helped Cal Poly twice cut the gap to five midway through the half, but a 14-4 run from the Anteaters handed UC Irvine an 81-66 edge with six-and-a-half minutes to play.
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Monday, August 25
Cal Poly Men's Basketball 2025 Summer Practice
Thursday, August 07
MBB Postgame Press Conference - Big West Championship Quarterfinal UC Riverside (March 13, 2025)
Friday, March 14
MBB Postgame Press Conference - Big West Championship vs UC Davis (March 12, 2025)
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