The Long Beach St. 49ers may be the heavy favorites at the 2012 Big West Tournament, but they currently trail the UC Irvine Anteaters at the half. UC Irvine, a seven seed that pulled the upset last evening to advance to the semifinals, showed a lot of heart in the first half and will not go down without a fight. The score is 28-27 in favor of UCI.
Casper Wear led UCSB with 15 points and carried his team for most of the first half. Mike Caffey added five points, while T.J. Robinson has four and seven rebounds. James Ennis was the only other 49er to score, and he had just three points.
Michael Wilder led UC Irvine with 12 points, although he picked up a second foul late and will need to stay on the court if his team hopes to have any chance of winning. Chris McNealy added six points and three rebounds, while Adam Folker added five of his own.
The second half is about to begin. Should Long Beach State lose, their 2012 NCAA Tournament chances could be in serious jeopardy.