Coyotes fall in West Regional opener

For the San Bernardino Sun

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – In unfamiliar surroundings, the Coyotes found themselves in a familiar situation Friday during the NCAA Division II West Regional. Only this time, the Cal State San Bernardino men’s basketball team couldn’t get past Brigham Young University-Hawaii in the opening round.

Making their first appearance on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus, the Coyotes hustled their way back from a nine-point, second-half deficit before falling to BYU-Hawaii 67-63 at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex. Cal State’s usually sound defense from baseline to baseline disappeared too often, especially down the stretch when the Seasiders closed with one needed basket after another.

“We were horrible tonight,” Cal State coach Jeff Oliver said. “We didn’t do what we do – pressure the ball, guard the ball and rebound.

“If we don’t do that, we’re probably not going to win.”

Last season, the Coyotes cruised to the Division II Final Four after opening the postseason with a 71-68 win over BYU-Hawaii in Arcata. This season, the Seasiders dashed the team’s title dreams in Anchorage, the ride over after posting a 22-8 record.

“We knew going in that no one was going to let us win,” said Coyotes senior guard Marlon Pierce. “Right now, it’s tough to think about the season as a whole. Looking back, there will probably be some things I’ll be proud of and some things to be disappointed in.”

The Coyotes and BYU-Hawaii played the second of four games on Friday’s opening-round docket. They also played in front of a capacity crowd, despite host and top-seeded Alaska Anchorage not playing until the nightcap. While not booed or hassled, second-seeded Cal State clearly didn’t feel the love from the Anchorage fans the way BYU-Hawaii did as the game moved along. The seventh-seeded Seasiders were met with continued cheers. Maybe it had something to do with Alaska and Hawaii together not being connected to the Lower 48, the term Alaskans use to describe the contiguous portion of the country.The Coyotes, defending region champs and perennial Division II powerhouses, believed it was something else.

“We’re pretty used to that,” senior guard Lance Ortiz said.

Pierce knew what was up.

“We’ve had a pretty big target on our back all year,” he said. “Everywhere we played, even the neutral sites, we were all we had. Our 15 to 18 guys with the coaches included (are) what we had all season. It was nothing we hadn’t seen before.”

BYU-Hawaii committed 11 of its 12 first-half turnovers in the first 12 minutes. After that, it made only one turnover before halftime. The Seasiders (19-7) solved Cal State’s full-court pressure defense and began getting easy looks for their big men – 6-foot-9 sophomore center Lucas Alves and 6-7 junior Jermaine Odjegba. Each player finished with 16 points.

Alves’ emphatic slam from the left side with 4:19 to play in the first half gave BYU-Hawaii a 24-20 lead. The advantage grew to five (34-29) by the break.

“The two people that hurt us were their bigs and bigs aren’t supposed to hurt us,” Oliver said. “It was a major problem.”

And one that got worse for the Coyotes in the second half before it got a little better.

Alves shook loose for three second-half dunks, including a pair of ooh- and aah-inspiring alley oops. The second on a pass from Corey Neilson gave the Seasiders a 49-42 lead with 12:39 to play.

“(The Coyotes) tried to press the ball as much as they could so the weak side was kind of wide open,” Alves said. “The first time, I was open so I just threw my finger up (looking for the pass). Yes, I was pretty surprised it worked again after that.”

BYU-Hawaii extended the lead to 51-42 moments after Alves’ alley-oop dunk. It was then when the Coyotes found their defensive prowess and mounted the comeback.

Cal State made stop after stop and scored the next 10 points. Joseph Tillman’s long-range jumper gave his team a 52-51 lead with 6:16 remaining. The Seasiders scored, but Cal State answered with an Ortiz three-pointer and Michael Earl free throw. The Coyotes led 56-53, but they then went scoreless the next 2:37.

They also relented defensively, allowing eight consecutive BYU-Hawaii points. Pierce and Ortiz each knocked down three-pointers. Ortiz’s triple with 52 seconds left sliced the Seasiders’ lead to 63-62. Odjegba left-side leaner and a pair of Neilson free throws finished off the Coyotes.

Alves grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. BYU-Hawaii will play rival Chaminade in today’s region semifinal.

Pierce led Cal State with 13 points. Ortiz added 11. The Coyotes were beat on the boards 32-25. BYU-Hawaii shot 54.9 percent (28 of 51) from the floor.

In a classy postgame move, Oliver closed his comments by thanking his group of eight seniors, led by Pierce, Ortiz and Earl.