Recap: UC Santa Barbara vs. Cal Poly

Anaheim, CA (Sports Network) - Orlando Johnson scored 20 points to lead the third-seeded UC Santa Barbara Gauchos into the Big West Tournament title game after a 64-52 win over the sixth-seeded Cal Poly Mustangs in the semifinals at the Honda Center.

James Nunnally added 13 points, Jaime Serna finished with 10 and Alan Williams brought down 10 rebounds for UC Santa Barbara (20-9) which will face off with top-seed Long Beach State in Saturday's title game.

David Hanson paced Cal Poly (18-15) with 19 points while Amaurys Fermin chipped in 11.

The squads went back and forth in the first half and it was UC Santa Barbara that held the lead, 32-31, at the break by shooting at a 46.2 percent clip including 4-for-8 from three point range in the first twenty minutes. Cal Poly stayed right with the Gauchos shooting at a 45.8 percent rate and knocking down 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.

Both teams struggled in the second half, especially Cal Poly which hit on only 29.6 percent of its shots and had just eight total field goals in the second frame. With the superior 38.1 percent shooting effort and a 13-for-15 performance from the foul line the Gauchos clinched the spot in the title game.

Both teams took care of the ball especially UC Santa Barbara who had only three turnovers in the game while Cal Poly coughed it up eight times.