The Brigham Young University Hawaii men's basketball team's dream season came to an abrupt end March 18 in the Cannon Activities Center when Cal Poly Pomona's Larry Gordon scored on a put-back with three seconds to play to give the third-seeded Broncos a 59-58 win over the top-seeded Seasiders in the NCAA II West Regional Final.
Gordon's heroics capped a 16-2 run to end the game that saw the Broncos overcome a 56-43 deficit with 7:13 to play.
The underdog Broncos held BYU-Hawaii scoreless for over six minutes while they reeled off 14 straight points to take a 57-56 lead on a pair of free throws by Tobias Jahn with 53 seconds to play. A pair of free throws by Lucas Alves [pictured shooting, at left] put the Seasiders back on top by one with 35 seconds left on the clock and the Broncos ran the clock down before Gordon, who was named Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament, penetrated the lane and attempted a tough shot in traffic. The rebound bounced off the hands of a couple of players and came back to Gordon who banked the ball in off the glass.
A desperation shot by the Seasiders at the buzzer was off and the Broncos celebrated qualifying for the Elite Eight for the third time this decade.
BYU-Hawaii held a 28-23 halftime lead, but poor shooting and good defense by the Broncos held BYU-Hawaii well below their 92-points-per-game average as the Seasiders shot just 37.3 percent for the game.
Alves led the Seasiders, who finish with the school's best-ever record at 27-2, with 18 points. Nathan Sims added 11 points and Trenson Akana finished with 10 for BYU-Hawaii. Jermaine Odjegba pulled down six rebounds and J.R. Buensuceso handed out five assists.
Gordon led Cal Poly Pomona, now 23-7, with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Jahn had 14 points in the win.
Gordon, Jahn, Alves, and Sims were joined by Seattle Pacific's Brandon Larrieu on the All-Tournament team.
— Photos by Monique Saenz