Men’s Basketball: ‘Eaters seize early command
Preseason Big West Conference favorite Long Beach State has developed a penchant for front-loading its men’s basketball schedule with recognized powers such as North Carolina, UCLA and Louisville.
But the way host UC Irvine performed in an 82-67 conference-opening win over the 49ers on Wednesday, it’s the Anteaters who may be better-suited to facing the sport’s blue bloods in the NCAA Tournament.
UCI (8-9), picked to finish second in the Big West preseason poll, smothered its Black and Blue rival with strong first-half defense, and executed with precision on offense to establish itself as the clear front-runner for its third regular-season conference title in the last four seasons.
Ioannis Dimakopoulos made four straight second-half three-point attempts, a career-best from beyond the arc, on his way to 18 points to pace a balanced scoring attack for the winners.
Senior guard Luke Nelson, who missed the first 15 games of the season with a hamstring injury, had 16 points, while senior guard Jaron Martin chipped in 12 for the ‘Eaters.
Long Beach State (5-11), which dropped both regular-season meetings with UCI last season only to knock the ‘Eaters out of the conference tournament with a semifinal triumph, shot a mere 36% in the first half (nine for 25) and made just one of 14 three-point tries in the game (7.1%).
UCI, with Dimakopoulos stroking set shots from distance, made eight of 21 from threedom and finished 29 for 55 from the field (52.7%).
The 7-foot-2 Dimakopoulos was seven for eight from the field.
UCI posted a 36-27 rebounding advantage and compiled a 26-10 advantage in bench scoring.
“I’m excited about the win,” said UCI Coach Russell Turner, whose team has won eight of its last 11 against the 49ers. “I’m excited about our offensive performance. We’ve been struggling on the offensive end a lot. But [Nelson, a first-team all-conference performer last season who is averaging a team-best 16 points in two games since returning] makes a big difference for us.”
Turner also acknowledged the absence of Long Beach State standout Gabe Levin, a 6-7 junior averaging 12.2 points and 6.2 rebounds who sat out with an injury.
“It was a big deal that Levin was not able to play,” Turner said. “He is a really important player for them, so we had some advantage tonight. We know just the same way Long Beach does that [the 49ers] are going to be contending for the championship of this conference, just as we hope to do. I thought tonight we held serve. We’re 1-0 [in conference].”
Freshman Tommy Rutherford had nine points and seven rebounds in 16 reserve minutes, while sophomore Jonathan Galloway had eight points and seven boards for the winners.
UCI’s superior depth was a factor as just one Anteater played more than 26 minutes (Martin), while four Long Beach starters played at least 35 minutes apiece.
UCI used a 9-2 run to take a 15-13 lead midway through the first half and held a 41-27 advantage at halftime.
The Anteaters led by as many as 19, but Long Beach used an 11-0 run to close to within 55-47 with 11:01 left.
Back-to-back Dimakopoulos threes within a 55-second span, however, helped UCI push the lead to 63-51, and it cruised to the victory.
“We had a good defensive game plan, which was made stronger with Levin’s absence,” Turner said. “I thought we made some key defensive adjustments throughout the first half that strengthened us.”
Four Long Beach starters combined for 57 points, led by junior guard Evan Payne, a Loyola Marymount transfer who had 19.
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Big West Conference
UC Irvine 82, Long Beach State 67
LBSU – Prince 12, Riggins 0, Payne 19, Bibbins 13, Blackwell 13, Yussef 8, L. Jackson 2.
3-pt. goals – Payne 1.
Fouled out – Yussef.
Technicals – None.
UCI – Galloway 8, Smith 2, Dimakopoulos 18, Nelson 16, Martin 12, Rutherford 9, Worku 7, Rivers 6, Greene 4.
3-pt. goals – Dimakopoulos 4, Rivers 2, Nelson 1, Worku 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
Halftime – 41-27, UCI.
