UC Irvine holds on, barely
Davis’ season-high 21 points help UCI prevail, after 17-point lead dwindles to three.
FULLERTON – In a battle of two 8-8 teams, visiting UC Irvine was the least mediocre Thursday night.
As a result, the Anteaters held on to defeat host Cal State Fullerton, 63-58, at Titan Gym.
The win helped UCI (9-8, 2-1 in conference) move into a tie for second place with Long Beach State, one game behind conference-leading UC Davis.
UCI built a 42-26 halftime lead and extended its advantage to 17 with 17:19 remaining. But the ‘Eaters then went scoreless for the next 9:31 to allow the Titans (8-9, 0-2) to close to within five.
Cal State Fullerton had three possessions late, trailing by three points, but failed to cash in any of those three chances.
UCI senior Will Davis finished with a season-high 21 points to lead the winners, who closed the series deficit to 52-48 in the 100th meeting between the Orange County rivals. Davis made a 10-foot jump hook and later dunked a deft, driving dish from Luke Nelson with 1:43 left for UCI’s final field goal and a 61-56 lead.
After a Titans layup with 1:34 left, both teams traded possessions, until Alex Young made both ends of a one-and-one free-throw situation with 12 seconds left for the final margin.
Davis was five for six from the field on his way to 13 first-half points and finished seven for 10 from the field. He also made seven of eight foul shots and collected a team-best seven rebounds.
“It was a big shot that [Davis] made at the end when we needed a basket and it felt like we were starving for points,” UCI Coach Russell Turner said of Davis’ jump hook. “We were relying on jump shots, we went to him on the right block and he delivered like a senior all-conference-level player is supposed to. So, I’m glad we had him tonight.”
UCI made just seven of 24 field-goal attempts after intermission (29.2%) to finish at 39.7% for the game (23 for 58).
A steal and layup by Nelson, who came off the bench to end a four-game absence due to a facial fracture, put the visitors up, 53-46, with 4:32 left.
Dominique Dunning tipped in a missed three-point attempt with 3:33 left to make it 55-48.
Young halted the ‘Eaters second-half scoreless streak with a one-handed 10-foot pull-up jumper that made it 51-44 with 7:48 left.
The Titans scored 11 straight points during the drought, but also missed four free-throw attempts during the run that could have pared the deficit further.
Fullerton was 13 for 22 from the foul line (59.1%), while UCI made 13 of 18 free-throw tries (72.2%).
UCI used a 13-0 run to pull away from a 13-13 deadlock, then closed the half on a 6-1 surge to create what appeared to be a comfortable cushion.
“Overall, it’s good to win,” said Turner, whose team continues its conference road swing at Cal State Northridge (Thursday), then Hawaii (Jan. 24). “I was really pleased with the way we competed in the first half, when I thought a lot of guys contributed [eight players scored].
“I was just about equally disappointed with the way we sort of limped down the stretch,” Turner said. “Maybe we thought Fullerton was going to go away. I give [the Titans] credit for continuing to fight. They had a chance to win the game.”
UCI played without 7-foot-6 sophomore Mamadou Ndiaye, who sustained a different left-foot injury than the one that put him out for nine games earlier. It is not known when Ndiaye, whose foot was in a boot, may return.
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Big West Conference
UC Irvine 63, Cal State Fullerton 58
UCI – Davis 21, Ryan 5, Young 6, Souza 6, Martin 7, Best 6, Nelson 5, Dimakopoulos 5, Dunning 2.
3-pt. goals – Souza 1, Nelson 1, Martin 1, Dimakopoulos 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
CSF – McClellan 7, Morgan 2, Boyd 2, Harris 17, Gentry 0, Johnson 14, Esume 6, Mason 5, Blackwell 4, Akoh 1.
3-pt. goals – Mason 1, Johnson 1, Harris 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
Halftime – 42-26, UCI.