By Canadian Press on March 14, 2025.
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Stephan D. Swenson scored 25 points to lead UC Santa Barbara to a 78-72 victory over Cal State Northridge in a Big West Conference Tournament quarterfinal on Thursday night. The fifth-seeded Gauchos (21-12) advance to play No. 1 seed UC San Diego in a Friday semifinal. No. 2 seed UC Irvine square off against No. 7 seed Cal Poly in the other semifinal. Swenson had four steals for the Gauchos. Cole Anderson scored 16 and also had four steals. Jason Fontenet II had 11 points. Keonte Jones led the fourth-seeded Matadors (22-10) with 19 points, 11 rebounds and two steals. Mahmoud Fofana contributed 17 points and eight rebounds. Scotty Washington pitched in with 14 points and seven rebounds. Swenson scored 11 points in the first half for UCSB, which led 35-28 at the break. UCSB used a 7-0 run for a 65-53 lead with 7:51 left. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. The Associated Press 10