Big West basketball tournament 2013 schedule and bracket: Cal Poly, Pacific head to semifinals

The 2013 Big West conference tournament has been whittled down after the Pacific Tigers and Cal Poly-SLO Mustangs earned spots in the semifinals with wins on Thursday.

Pacific, thanks in large part to jumping out to a 40-25 halftime lead, held on late to defeat the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, 71-68, in Anaheim, Calif. Cal Poly, after getting to the half with a grinding 20-19 lead over the UC Davis Aggies, blew the doors open in the second half, running away to a 64-41 win and berth in the conference semifinals.

Cal Poly and Pacific face each other in one of the conference semis on Saturday.

Their potential opponents in the title game will not be decided until later Thursday, as meetings between the Cal State Fullerton Titans and Long Beach State 49ers make up the third quarterfinal pairing of the day. In the nightcap, the Hawaii Warriors face the UC Irvine Anteaters with the final spot in the Big West semifinals on the line. Winners of each contest will move on to a semifinal showdown.

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