Clovis West alum Cole Anderson reflects on time in NCAA Tournament

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- It was one and done for the UC Santa Barbara men's basketball in the NCAA Tournament but it was still an incredible experience for Valley native Cole Anderson. "Just the thought of being there with all those great teams that are there was just the best feeling," Anderson said.

Playing on his sport's biggest stage, it was the little details that stood out for the Clovis West grad who noticed each locker-room had Degree soap & shaving cream "because I think those were official sponsors."

The Gauchos' first round game was against #3 Baylor at Ball Arena in Denver, CO.

Home of the Denver Nuggets, with a capacity crowd of just under twenty thousand, Anderson says it was the most fans he's ever played in front of.

"I was pretty nervous going into it just because it's a huge tournament."

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In the first half, Anderson caught fire scoring on back to back Gaucho possessions.

"It was awesome, I think that's what someone would want to do in March Madness is have one of those moments where they're all hyped up and stuff," he told Action News.

He'd finished with five points in a 74-56 loss to Baylor but after tasting the Tournament experience, says he and the Gauchos are hungry to get back.

"Definitely hungry. It's a good feeling to go there but once we lost and you reflect back on it you just think that you want to get back there because now you know what it feels like to be out there, you have the experience so the next step is getting to the tournament and trying to advance."