Long Beach State Beach vs Cal State Northridge Matadors
Cal State Northridge tops Long Beach State 82-77
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Stephan Hicks scored 27 points Friday night, including 21 in the second half, and Cal State Northridge held off a strong Long Beach State second-half rally to win 82-77 in a Big West Conference tournament semifinal.
The fifth-seeded Matadors will face Cal Poly in Saturday's final, after Cal Poly beat top-seeded UC Irvine 61-58 to advance.
The Matadors (17-17) used runs of 14-2 and 10-2 to build a 44-32 halftime advantage, with Josh Greene scoring 19 points in the half.
The 49ers opened the second with a 15-3 run and led 49-47 on a 3-pointer by Michael Caffey. The lead flip-flopped four times and Hicks scored 10 straight points to put the Matadors up 67-65 with 4:05 to play.
The 49ers closed to within three, 80-77, after Tyler Lamb's trey with 9 seconds to play, but got no closer.
Greene finished with 21.
Caffey led Long Beach (15-17) with 19.
Game Information
Anaheim, CA
Referee:Michael Irving
Referee:Deron White
Referee:Michael Greenstein
2025-26 Standings
| Big West ConferenceBig West Conference | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| UC Irvine | 15-5 | - | 23-12 |
| Hawai'i | 14-6 | 1 | 24-9 |
| UC San Diego | 12-8 | 3 | 23-11 |
| Cal State Northridge | 12-8 | 3 | 20-14 |
| Cal State Fullerton | 12-8 | 3 | 18-16 |
| UC Davis | 11-9 | 4 | 19-14 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 11-9 | 4 | 18-14 |
| Cal Poly | 10-10 | 5 | 14-19 |
| Long Beach State | 6-14 | 9 | 10-22 |
| UC Riverside | 5-15 | 10 | 10-22 |
| Cal State Bakersfield | 2-18 | 13 | 8-24 |




