Men’s Basketball: Ndiaye paces victory
LOS ANGELES — The UC Irvine men’s basketball team made itself at home in the paint to record its first victory on the road, 80-72, Saturday night at Loyola Marymount.
The Anteaters, who had lost their previous two games, both on the road, after two home victories to open the season, shot nearly 60% from the field in the opening half, when the 6-foot-8 Davis and 7-6 sophomore Mamadou Ndiaye combined for 26 points and made 12 of their 16 field-goal tries.
Ndiaye made his final seven field-goal attempts, including all five in the second half, and scored 11 of his career-high 21 points after the break. He finished 10 for 11 from the field as he went over, around and through LMU post defenders.
Ndiaye also had five of the Anteaters’ nine blocked shots, and added four rebounds and one steal.
Davis missed his final 10 shots from the field to wind up with a season-high 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while senior guard Travis Souza was four for five from three-point range on his way to a career-high 16 points.
“Mamadou is a factor,” UCI Coach Russell Turner said. “Anybody who can’t see that is looking at something different than me. I thought our team did a good job of putting the ball in his hands in good spots tonight. I thought he did a good job with his patience. He passed it out when [defenders] were around him and he took the shots that were there. He showed improved presence and improved game. And that doesn’t surprise me at all. I think we put teams in a bind when we can go to him, because we have good players around him.”
Junior Alex Young chipped in 11 points and six assists, connecting on four of seven from the field and two of three from threedom.
Sophomore Luke Nelson contributed nine points, seven assists and two steals to help UCI, ranked No. 18 in the CollegeInsider.com mid-major poll, lead throughout.
The ‘Eaters improved to 3-2 heading into the last of a four straight road games on Wednesday at Fresno State.
LMU (3-3) stayed close in the opening period, thanks to five three-pointers and two additional traditional three-point plays, as well as the high-flying production of sophomore guard Evan Payne, who netted 15 of his game-high 23 points before intermission.
The Anteaters opened the second half with a 9-2 run, including a pair of Ndiaye layups, as the Lions continued to lack answers for the ‘Eaters’ paint production.
UCI opened a 22-10 cushion with 11:54 remaining in the first half, but the Lions eventually battled back to pull even at 39 with 2:49 left before intermission.
The visitors posted the advantage in rebounding (21-15) and blocked shots (5-2) in the first half, in which both teams had only four turnovers.
UCI finished with 11 turnovers, two more than the Lions, who shot 43.5% from the field (27 for 62), including eight for 20 from beyond the arc.
UCI finished 31 for 58 from the field (53.4%) and was six for 15 from three-point distance (40%). The visitors won the rebounding battle, 44-32.
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Nonconference
UC Irvine 80, Loyola Marymount 72
UCI – Davis 17, Ndiaye 21, Souza 16, Young 11, Nelson 6, Wright 4, Ryan 2, Best 2, Dunning 1.
3-pt. goals – Souza 4, Young 2.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
LMU – Egbeyemi 10, Mornar 1, Siame 9, Payne 23, Hayes 8, Krajcovic 12, Humphries 6, Herman 3.
3-pt. goals – Humphries 2, Krajcovic 2, Hayes 2, Payne 1, Herman 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
Halftime – 44-39, UCI.