Recap: Pacific vs. Cal Poly

Anaheim, CA (Sports Network) - Travis Fulton put back an offensive rebound just before the buzzer to lift the second-seeded Pacific Tigers to a thrilling 55-53 victory over the third-seeded Cal Poly Mustangs in the semifinals of the Big West Tournament at the Honda Center.

Fulton finished with 12 points for Pacific (21-12), which also received 20 points off the bench from Tony Gill. The Tigers advance to take on the UC Irvine Anteaters in the championship on Saturday.

Chris Eversley paced Cal Poly (18-13) with 12 points and five rebounds. Chris O'Brien chimed in with 11 points while Dylan Royer scored 10 points.

Cal Poly connected on 40 percent of its field goal attempts in the first half, but it managed to make just 2-of-11 from 3-point range. Despite missing all four of their 3-point tries and going 8-of-23 from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, the Tigers trailed by only two points at 23-21 going into the intermission.

O'Brien put the Mustangs on top, 53-51, with one minute left in regulation by sinking a pair at the free-throw line. Lorenzo McCloud made a layup to even the score on the Tigers' next possession. Royer missed a 3-pointer for Cal Poly with 27 seconds left, which gave the Tigers the ball with a dead shot clock. McCloud missed a jumper from the corner with two seconds left, but Fulton caught the rebound and pushed it back at the basket for the game- winning play.

Although it lost, Cal Poly held a 29-23 edge in the rebounding battle.