AZUSA, Calif. – The PacWest split four games in the opening round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball West Regional, with Azusa Pacific and California Baptist advancing to the semifinals. CBU will face No. 7 Seattle Pacific Saturday at 5 p.m., followed by APU and No. 5 Cal Poly Pomona at 7:30 p.m. BYU-Hawaii and Dixie State were both upset.
 
Cal Baptist 67 – Chico State 61
Box Score / CBU Press Conference
 
No. 3 California Baptist won its first NCAA Tournament game, 67-61, over No. 6 Chico State. A year after surrendering a 10-point lead to the Wildcats in a first round loss, CBU used a strong second half to exact revenge. Gelaun Wheelwright scored a game-high 20 points, and Taj Spencer logged a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds.
 
After both teams struggled offensively in the first half, CBU started the second with 10-straight points to take a 37-24 lead. A three-pointer at 5:24 drew Chico within four, but CBU answered right back with seven points, capped by a Spencer dunk. CBU scored 21 points in the paint and 17 points off 14 Chico turnovers.
 
Seattle Pacific 81 – BYU-Hawaii 69
Box Score / BYUH Press Conference
 
No. 2 BYU-Hawaii fell victim to the first upset of the regional, losing to No. 7 Seattle Pacific, 81-69. SPU used a big run and 25 free throws in the second half to break away from a tightly-contested first half. Pablo Coro led the Seasiders with 13 points and Jordan Stone added 10 points and eight rebounds.
 
Seattle Pacific scored 15-straight points early in the second half to build a 57-45 lead. The Seasiders went over six minutes without a point, but came back with a 12-1 run to pull within a point, 60-59. SPU did not surrender the lead, however, making 14 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
 
Cal Poly Pomona 62 – Dixie State 60
Box Score / DX Press Conference
 
A pull-up jumper at the buzzer lifted No. 5 Cal Poly Pomona over No. 4 Dixie State, 62-60. The Red Storm lost to the Broncos in the opening round for the second-consecutive season. Mark Ogden scored a team-best 16 points and DeQuan Thompson added 15 in his final game.
 
Dixie struggled early offensively against the top-ranked defense in the nation, but strung together 11-straight points to pull within one, 20-19, at 4:50.
 
Both teams came out with more offense in the second half and after five quick lead changes, Ogden hit three jumpers to give Dixie its biggest lead, 50-45, with 7:16 left. CPP came right back with a 15-5 run and after a pair Robbie Nielson free throws, the Broncos led, 60-57, with 1:17 left. CPP turned the ball over on the ensuing possession, and Ogden nails just his second three-pointer of the year to tie the score at 60. CPP had the final possession and CCAA Player of the Year Terrence Drisdom nailed the game-winner as time expired.
 
Azusa Pacific 75 – Western Oregon 67
Box Score / APU Press Conference
 
No. 1 Azusa Pacific defeated No. 8 Western Oregon, 75-67, in its first-ever NCAA Tournament game. Troy Leaf scored 34 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field and 11-of-11 at the free throw line. Robert Sandoval had 11 points, six rebounds and two assists.
 
Western Oregon ran out to an 11-0 lead at the start, but the Cougars battled back to tie it at 15. The half featured six lead changes and three more ties, as the teams went to the locker room knotted at 34.
 
With the score knotted at 49 late in the second half, Leaf converted a three-point play and made a three-pointer during a 12-0 APU run that gave the Cougars their biggest lead, 61-49.