Men’s Basketball: ‘Eaters pull away, top Titans
UC Irvine Coach Russell Turner has long said that his goal is for his team to be playing its best basketball at this time of year.
Injuries made that a virtual impossibility in a 68-62 Big West Conference men’s home win over Cal State Fullerton on Thursday. The absence of three contributors, as well as a whistle-laden, foul-a-minute tussle with the Titans, didn’t exactly allow for much of a culminating flow for the Anteaters.
In addition, UC Davis’ come-from-behind home win over UC Riverside on Thursday allowed the Aggies to clinch the regular-season conference title, relegating UCI (18-11, 11-4 in conference) to either second or third place with one regular-season game remaining.
UCI visits Davis on Saturday and a win, or a UC Santa Barbara loss at home against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, would give UCI second place outright and the No. 2 seed in the Big West tournament that begins Thursday at Honda Center.
But should UCSB (17-12, 10-5) and UCI wind up tied for second, which would result from a UCI loss and a UCSB win Saturday, the Gauchos would claim the No. 2 seed by virtue of a tiebreaker advantage.
UCI, playing without senior John Ryan (foot), Dominique Dunning (knee) and Aaron Wright (unspecified injury), pulled away in the second half to earn its seventh straight win over its Orange County rival.
Sophomore guard Luke Nelson made nine of 10 foul shots to help produce a team-best 15 points as the ‘Eaters shot 52.2% from the field after halftime (12 for 23, including five for 11 from three-point range) in its final home game of the season. UCI was 14 for 16 from the foul line in the final 20 minutes.
UCI made just seven of 21 shots in the first 20 minutes, but held a 25-22 lead thanks to a Nelson three-pointer at the buzzer.
Cal State Fullerton (9-21, 1-14 in conference), which will be the lone absentee from the Big West Tournament that includes only eight of the conference’s nine teams, hung tough in a first half that had nine lead changes and four tie scores.
But the Titans missed 12 of their first 14 field-goal attempts in the second half. Only four three-pointers in the final 44 seconds helped them make the final score closer than the game dictated.
Mamadou Ndiaye, a 7-foot-6 sophomore, had 12 points, eight rebounds and six of UCI’s 10 blocked shots, while senior Will Davis finished with nine points and six rebounds. Ndiaye made four of six from the field in 24 minutes.
Senior Travis Souza, who along with Davis and Ryan were honored before the game on senior night, made three of the hosts’ five second-half three-pointers on his way to nine points, five assists and four rebounds.
Junior Alex Young had eight points, five assists and matched Souza with two steals as both teams split 20 combined turnovers.
Junior Mike Best came off the shortened UCI bench to chip in five points, three blocks and three rebounds.
Fullerton posted a 38-34 rebounding advantage, but finished at 38.3% from the field, including five for eight from threedom after halftime.
A win Saturday would give UCI a victory over every Big West school this season and also plant a seed with the Aggies for what could be, barring upsets, a rematch in the Big West Tournament title game on March 14. UC Davis, despite playing without its best player and the likely conference MVP Corey Hawkins, gave UCI a 75-56 thumping at the Bren Events Center on Feb. 5.
Turner said he was looking forward to the regular-season finale.
“We have a chance to compete against the top team in the league on Saturday and that makes a difference to me,” Turner said. “Some might say it doesn’t matter much, but not me. If they keep score, I care.”
Turner said Ryan, a 6-10 post who has missed the last five games, could return as soon as Saturday, and almost certainly by the conference tournament.
Turner said the injuries to Dunning and Wright are not serious.
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Big West Conference
UC Irvine 68, Cal State Fullerton 62
CSF – Esume 10, McClellan 6, Harris 15, Gentry 2, Morgan 0, Johnson 21, Singleton 6, Blackwell 2.
3-pt. goals – Johnson 4, Singleton 2.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
UCI – Davis 10, Ndiaye 11, Nelson 15, Souza 9, Young 8, Martin 6, Best 5, Saprykinas 2, Dimakopoulos 2.
3-pt. goals – Souza 3, Nelson 2, Martin 2.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
Halftime – 25-22, UCI.