Friday, March 14th, 11:00 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Anaheim Convention Center Arena (7,734) -- Anaheim, California. Television: ESPNU. Home Record: Fullerton 11-3, Northridge 10-3. Away Record: Fullerton 9-5, Northridge 9-5. Neutral Record: Fullerton 2-0, Northridge 1-1. Conference Record: Fullerton 12-4, Northridge 12-4. Series Record: Cal State Fullerton leads, 31-24.

GAME NOTES: In search of their first-ever Big West Conference Tournament title, the second-seeded Cal State Northridge Matadors try to fight through the semifinals of the event tonight versus the Cal State Fullerton Titans at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena. Northridge, which earned byes through the first two rounds of the event, played for the title in 2004 but lost to Pacific by two points, 75-73. This season, the Matadors didn't lose back-to- back games until the first week of February, but the team struggled down the stretch a bit with three defeats in four games before closing out with a resounding 97-67 victory versus Cal Poly. As for the Titans, who won their only conference tourney title back in 1978, they first had to get through UC Riverside in the quarterfinals on Thursday night and did so with an 81-69 triumph. The win was the fourth in a row for the program and the eighth in the last nine outings, the only loss during that stretch coming against these same Matadors by a score of 82-74 at home on February 27th. Having split the two regular-season meetings in 2007-08, Fullerton now leads the all-time series against the Matadors by a count of 31-24. Tonight's winner will challenge the survivor of the UC Irvine/UC Santa Barbara meeting for the championship on Saturday night.

Cal State Fullerton made good on 51.8 percent of its shots from the field last night, converting 60 percent in the second half alone, as the squad made it past UC Riverside by a dozen points. Josh Akognon again led the way with his 20 points, shooting 3-of-6 behind the three-point line, followed by Frank Robinson with 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Scott Cutley tacked on 10 points and five assists to make up for just 4-of-12 shooting from the floor. Akognon has been a scoring machine for Fullerton this season, posting 19.6 ppg from having made almost 40 percent of his three-point tries. Cutley and Robinson produce 14.4 and 16.2 ppg, respectively, have combined for 14.5 rpg and each have 75 assists to their credit, which makes them a couple of the most well-rounded performers in the conference. Considering they are part of the same starting five, it is scary to think about their potential from game to game.

It has been almost a week since Northridge last hit the floor, but the team was sure to make a statement in that game against Cal Poly as four players scored in double figures and the team as a whole made good on not only 59.7 percent from the field but also an incredible 16-of-26 behind the three-point line. Deon Tresvant posted 21 points off the bench, Jonathan Heard 19, Calvin Chitwood 17 points and seven rebounds and Josh Jenkins 16 points and nine assists in the onslaught. Although he has been a reserve the entire season, Tresvant has shown that even a backup can steal the spotlight, with his team- best 14.0 ppg. In conference games, Tresvant boosts his average to 16.3 ppg and has made 46.6 percent of his three-point tries. Another reserve, Tremaine Townsend, is responsible for 10.1 ppg and 9.8 rpg in league outings, which takes that much more pressure off Heard (11.6 ppg), Jenkins (10.7 ppg, 187 assists) and Chitwood (10.7 ppg).

The Titans may be one of the top scoring programs in the nation yet again this season, but to have a balanced attack like the one that Northridge puts out on the floor is something few teams can brag about.

Predicted Outcome

CS Northridge 82, CS Fullerton 77