UC Irvine too much for Cal Poly as Mustangs’ season ends in Big West semifinals

HENDERSON — After a run to the Big West semifinals, the farthest the team has reached in 11 years, Mustangs fell short against UC Irvine 96-78 as their hopes for a Cinderella story came to an end.

The Mustangs held a lead at halftime, but the Anteaters figured out how to work their offense through their All-Big West First Team big man Bent Leuchten.

Leuchten finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, and when the Mustangs collapsed into the paint to defend him, the Anteaters found shooters on the perimeter.

The lead increased to 13 points with five minutes left in the game, then 18 by the horn. In the second half, the Anteaters scored 58 points.

“They were able to pound it inside on us and separate enough where we needed to make the game crazy, and the guys fought to the very end,” Head Coach Mike DeGeorge said. “I’m just incredibly proud of this group.”

Mac Riniker scored 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Jarred Hyder added 15 points.

Riniker, Owen Koonce, Issac Jessup and Ethan Menzies all came from Colorado Mesa with DeGeorge ahead of this season. They all graduate at the end of the year.

“You need that group that you put together immediately to set an example of what it is you want the foundation of the program to be,” DeGeorge said. “This group couldn’t have done a better job of that.”

As Cal Poly’s season comes to a close, the team finished 16-19 overall and 8-12 conference.

The team picked up a historic win over Stanford in non-conference play. However, the Mustangs then had a 0-8 start to conference before finishing with an 8-4 record and reaching the Big West Championship, where they advanced to the semifinals.

No. 2 UC Irvine was set to meet No. 1 UC San Diego in the finals on Saturday.

This story was originally published March 14, 2025 at 11:59 PM.