 SAN
BERNARDINO - Junior forward
Brandon Brown (6'7''-F) scored a game-high 34 points en route to tournament
Most Valuable Player honors as Cal State San Bernardino held on for an 80-78
victory over Cal State Monterey Bay to capture the 2009 California Collegiate
Athletic Association (CCAA) Men's Basketball Tournament Saturday night at
Coussoulis Arena. The Coyotes (20-9), who also tied for the CCAA's
regular-season title, earned the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA
Tournament. The complete field and seedings will be announced Sunday afternoon.
Senior forward
Joe
Mitchell (6'4''-F), who became the first Cal State Monterey Bay player to
score 1,000 points, scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Otters
(16-14).It was the first CCAA tournament title ever for the Coyotes who have been in the CCAA since 1991-92 after being ousted in the quarterfinals in 2008 and lifted their record to 20-9 on the season and guarantees them a berth in the upcoming NCAA West Regional. CSUSB entered the tournament ranked No. 7 in the region and had to survive three tense, close-fought games to take hold of the tournament championship banner along with an MVP award for Brown and an all-tournament honor for teammate Devin Montgomery (6'0''-G). To celebrate the championship, the Coyotes had to beat Sonoma State 79-77, UC San Diego 76-72 and then take a two-point victory over the Otters. The Otters, having pulled themselves out of a hole, took the lead for the first time 60-59 on a dunk by Mitchell (24 points and 10 rebounds) at the 11:33 mark of the second half. The lead expanded to five at 67-62 on a layin by Dante Green (6'4''-F) with 9:13 left . A pair of free throws by Sean Jergo made it 71-66 Otters with 5:23 to go. However, Michael Frazier (6'4''-G/F) drained a three and Brown scored on a layup to tie the game at 71 with 4:38 left. CSUSB regained the lead at 73-71 with 3:57 on a layup by Dubois Williams (6'6''-G) off an assist by Brown. After Warren Freeman drew the Otters even with a bucket, Williams scored again on an assist by Brown for a 75-73 edge with 2:36 to go. An Otters turnover led to a jumper by Brown with 1:53 left to give CSUSB a 77-73 lead but Freeman came right back with an easy layup at 1:17 to make it 77-75. Brown hit a baseline jumper for a four-point lead at 79-75 with 47 seconds left but Mitchell responded with a three-point play to trim the margin to 79-78 with 22 seconds left. Monreal fouled Tim Denson (6'1''-G-86) with 20 seconds left and Denson made one of two for a 80-78 lead but the Otters had the ball and called time with 12 seconds left to set up a play. Jose Sanchez (6'4''-G) missed a jumper, Mitchell grabbed the rebound and tried another shot but CSUSB's Reggie Brown (6'5''-G/F) came up with the loose ball after a scramble in the corner as the horn sounded. Here's how the Otters took control of the game until very late in the game. They outscored CSUSB 18-1 on second-chance points and 15-8 on points off turnovers, outrebounding the hosts 35-27. But CSUSB's offensive team work which led to a season-high 27 assists and just 13 turnovers helped turn the tide. However, Brown was the key with his four assists, five rebounds and a steal to help the cause as he made 14 of 22 field goals and six of nine from the foul line. There have been 11 CCAA tournaments since 1987 and he and Montgomery are the first Coyotes to earn all-tournament honors in that time. CSUSB shot 56 percent from the floor (31 of 55) and 40 percent from the three (8 of 20). The Otters were nearly as good, shooting 51 percent (30 of 59) and 81 percent from the foul line but just 29 percent from the three. Backing up Mitchell were Green with 11 points and Sanchez with 12 points. Monreal had five assists and three steals to go with seven points. Lawrence Tyson had 14 points, two assists for the Coyotes while Frazier finished with 12 points on four 3-pointers. Montgomery scored only six points but had nine assists in the game. The Coyotes will learn just where they will be seeded and where they will play the West Region quarterfinals on Sunday night. It could be Western Washington where the Vikings beat Central Washington for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title. Or it could be at BYU-Hawaii, the No. 1 team in the region and the Pacific West Conference champion. Courtesy of goccaa Tournament Final: Cal State San Bernardino - Cal State Monterey Bay 80-78 Tournament SemiFinals: Cal State Monterey Bay - Cal Poly Pomona 54-49 (OT) Cal State San Bernardino - UC San Diego 76-72 CCAA All-Tournament MVP Brandon Brown of Cal State San Bernardino CCAA All-Tournament Team Brandon Brown of Cal State San Bernardino Larry Gordon (6'5''-F) of California State Polytechnica Joe Mitchell of Cal State Monterey Bay Devin Montgomery of Cal State San Bernardino Steve Monreal (5'11''-G) of Cal State Monterey Bay
Brandon Brown of Cal State San Bernardino Larry Gordon of Cal Poly Pomona Robert Hayes (5'10''-G) of San Francisco State Michael Hernandez (6'2''-G-85) of Cal State Dominguez Hills Kelvin Kim (5'10''-G-87) of UC San Diego Joe Mitchell of Cal State Monterey Bay Devin Montgomery of Cal State San Bernardino Jerrell Smith (6'9''-F-85) of Cal State Dominguez Hills Austin Swift (6'5''-G) of Cal Poly Pomona Zac Tiedeman (6'1''-G) of Humboldt State All-CCAA 2nd Team Andy Bocian (6'6''-F) of Chico State Chris Fields (6'6''-G/F) of Cal State L.A. Tobias Jahn (6'9''-F-86) of Cal Poly Pomona Jordan Lawley (6'4''-G-87) of UC San Diego Chris Mark (6'6''-F) of Cal.St.-Los Angeles Steve Monreal of Cal State Monterey Bay Shane Poppen (6'4''-G-87) of UC San Diego Alex Thomas (6'2''-G) of San Francisco State Dubois Williams of Cal State San Bernardino Rodney Yearby (6'5''-F-80) of Cal State Dominguez Hills CCAA Player of the Year: Larry Gordon of Cal Poly Pomona CCAA Freshman of the Year: Kyle Baxter (6'7''-F) of Humboldt State CCAA Newcomer of the Year: Brandon Brown of Cal State San Bernardino CCAA Coach of the Year : Greg Kamansky of Cal Poly Pomona | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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