Lauren RabainoFour wins in four days were needed by the Cal Poly men’s basketball team to win the Big West Conference Tournament, but it was a mere four shots the Mustangs were able to make in the first half of their opening-round, season-ending, 62-54 loss to UC Riverside Wednesday evening.
The Mustangs, who made just 4 of 22 shots from the floor before intermission, missed 13 of their first 14 attempts while making just one field goal 16 minutes and 51 seconds into the contest before 1,392 at the Anaheim Convention Center.
They mustered only six points until 4:35 remained in the half, at which point the Highlanders had carved out their largest lead of the game, at 16-6.
Sophomore guard Lorenzo Keeler paced the sixth-seeded Mustangs with 13 points on 4-of-13 shooting, and junior center Titus Shelton added 13 points and eight rebounds.
Freshman guard Shawn Lewis had 10 points in the loss.
Seventh-seeded UC Riverside (9-20) was led by senior guard Larry Cunningham, who sank 8 of 17 shots from the floor on his way to 23 points. Junior guard Aaron Scott chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds, and sophomore guard Cleavon Barlow pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds in the win.
The Mustangs, who trailed 20-17 at halftime, shot just 15 of 52 overall, 6 of 28 from 3-point range and 18 of 28 from the free-throw line.
Cal Poly ended its season at 12-18.