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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, March 19, 2009

BYUH BASKETBALL
Seasiders' season comes to stunning end in 59-58 loss

Photo gallery: BYUH vs. Cal Poly Pomona basketball

By Kyle Sakamoto
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Brigham Young-Hawai'i's Jermaine Odjegba suffers the agony of defeat while Cal Poly Pomona players celebrate the joy of victory.

NORMAN SHAPIRO | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Brigham Young-Hawai'i's Lucas Alves tries to shoot over Cal Poly Pomona's Austin Swift. Alves scored 18 points for the Seasiders, who were held 34 points below their season average.

NORMAN SHAPIRO | Honolulu Advertiser

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

As Brigham Young-Hawai'i's Jermaine Odjegba, top, drops to the floor in disbelief, Cal Poly Pomona's Dahir Nasser collapses in exhaustion following the closing hectic moments of last night's NCAA Division II West Regional final won by Cal Poly Pomona, 59-58.

NORMAN SHAPIRO | Honolulu Advertiser

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Ken Wagner

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LA'IE — It's all over for the Brigham Young-Hawai'i men's basketball team: the winning streak, the season and the dreams of reaching the Elite Eight.

Whether you want to say the Seasiders fell apart at the end last night, or Cal Poly Pomona just seized the game late, the bottom line is this loss hurt.

Larry Gordon put back his own miss with 3.4 seconds left and Cal Poly Pomona rallied from a 13-point deficit with 6:40 left in a 59-58 victory over BYU-Hawai'i in the NCAA Division II West Regional final in front of 4,261 at Cannon Activities Center.

"He's been doing that for a long time," Cal Poly Pomona coach Greg Kamansky said of Gordon, who finished with 15 rebounds. "He likes to get his own rebound. The ball bounced our way. If it bounces to the other side of the basket, BYU-Hawai'i wins."

Gordon, who scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half, drove right, missed a shot in close, but got it back after it was tipped by a Seasider.

"The defender was overplaying the ball screen, so I went the other way," Gordon said. "Just threw up a shot ... I got it back and just went up strong. I knew the clock was running down so I had to put it up."

BYU-Hawai'i's Marcus Whippy took the inbounds pass, dribbled up the floor and missed from the top of the key as time expired.

Cal Poly Pomona (23-7), the California Collegiate Athletic Association co-champion and regional's No. 3 seed, advances to the Elite Eight, which starts Wednesday in Springfield, Mass.

BYU-Hawai'i, the Pacific West Conference champion and regional's No. 1 seed, saw its 24-game winning streak end.

BYU-Hawai'i, which finished 27-2, appeared to be in control at 56-43 with 6:40 remaining, before Cal Poly Pomona seized the momentum.

"I don't think our team let them come back," said BYU-Hawai'i junior Lucas Alves. "The other team just believed in themselves and never gave up. Our team stayed together and played hard, but they came out victorious."

Tobias Jahn scored six points during the Broncos' game-ending 16-2 surge. His two free throws with 51 seconds remaining gave Cal Poly Pomona its first lead at 57-56.

Alves hit a pair of free throws with 34 seconds left to put the Seasiders up 58-57.

Cal Poly Pomona worked the shot clock down on its final possession before Gordon scored the game-winner.

"It's tough because you're one rebound away from ending it," said BYU-Hawai'i coach Ken Wagner. "It looked like we had it and they got it and they put it back in."

Jahn scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half for the Broncos, who shot 12 of 25 from the field after halftime.

"We started driving and playing decisive basketball," Kamansky said.

BYU-Hawai'i's Wagner added: "When we were up, we had two or three wide-open looks we normally hit, but missed. And late in the game, we missed some free throws. We hit those free throws at the end, it makes a difference. And we had some defensive lapses where we needed to play better defense. I think we were spread out a little too much."

Alves scored 18 points to lead BYU-Hawai'i, ranked No. 3 in the NABC Division II poll.

He scored 10 points during a 12-0 run early in the second half that gave the Seasiders their largest lead at 42-27 with 14:06 left.

Cal Poly Pomona, which employed a match-up zone, held BYU-Hawai'i to 19-of-51 shooting from the field. The Seasiders also hit only 15 of 24 free-throw attempts.

"That's our style," Kamansky said of the slow tempo. "We have to take what the defense gives us. Our style isn't scoring 23 points in the first half (BYUH led 28-23). We didn't want to have a game in the 90s; look at it that way."

Nathan Sims scored 11 points and Trenson Akana 10 for the Seasiders, who were held 34 points below their season average.

"We got the shots we wanted, we just couldn't put them in," said Seasiders guard Virgil Buensuceso. "Can't say anything bad about my teammates. We all gave our blood, sweat and tears in that game."

The Broncos will be making their third Elite Eight appearance in Kamasky's nine-year tenure at Cal Poly Pomona. The Broncos lost their first games in the 2003 and 2005 Elite Eights.

Reach Kyle Sakamoto at ksakamoto@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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