‘Eaters’ Young steps up

The curtain call may have been premature, but the important part of senior Alex Young’s career-high 36-point performance was timely indeed Saturday night.

Including the end of the first half, Young scored 12 UCI straight points to help the host Anteaters take control and go on to earn a 93-84 Big West Conference men’s basketball triumph in front of 2,486 at the Bren Events Center.

Young’s 10 points in the first 1:50 of the second half sparked an 18-4 post-intermission surge that helped UCI expand a 39-34 halftime lead.

Young, who was 14 for 19 from the field, four for seven from three-point range, and four for six from the foul line, was taken out and given an ovation with 4:41 left and UCI leading, 81-62.

But when the Matadors chipped away at the lead, Coach Russell Turner put Young, as well as fellow backcourt starter Luke Nelson, back in the game with 2:32 left.

Northridge (9-16, 4-7 in conference) closed to within 89-82 with 25 seconds left, but UCI (19-7, 8-2) closed out its ninth win in 10 home games this season.

“I put him back in because we needed to make sure we handled the ball and closed the game,” Turner said. “I was happy with the stability he brought to us. That’s what Alex brings to our team and probably what a lot of people take for granted is his ability to control tempo and have an impact on both ends. He’s a winning player.”

Young, who had the most points by an Anteater since Mike Efevberha netted 37 in December, 2003, said he wanted to step up for his team, coming off a 74-52 loss in a first-place showdown at Hawaii on Thursday.

“My intent tonight was just to be aggressive,” said Young, who entered the game No. 8 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.92). “I’ve always wanted to be kind of laid back and not wanting to make mistakes out there. But tonight, I was just trying to be aggressive in all aspects of the game — rebounding, passing, scoring and playing defense. I thought I needed to do a little more tonight, especially coming off a tough road game. I thought I’d be the one to pick up the slack for us.”

Turner said Young showed the kind of senior leadership that he will count on down the stretch this season.

“The story of the game tonight was Alex Young and the way he stepped up for us,” Turner said. “I’ve talked to him all season about being more aggressive. We needed him to have a game tonight and he had a big game. If he doesn’t have that game, we really struggle. I know that coming down the stretch with the championship on the line, I can count on Alex Young, and our team knows that.”

Young added a team-best three steals, five rebounds and one assist. His five turnovers were two more than his previous single-game worst this season, but his aggressiveness clearly paid off.

“Tonight I told myself to just [scrap] everything, be myself, be aggressive and make plays,” said Young, whose previous season-high was 20 points, and whose previous career-best had been 24 against Long Beach State last season.

Mamadou Ndiaye made seven of nine field-goal tries to chip in 14 points. The 7-foot-6 junior had seven rebounds and contributed three of his team’s 13 blocks, which matched the most single-game rejections this season.

Senior Mike Best (eight points and a team-high eight rebounds), and 6-10 freshman reserve Jonathan Galloway (four points and two rebounds) had three blocks apiece, while 7-2 junior Ioannis Dimakopoulos blocked two shots.

UCI shot 54.5% from the field and was eight for 14 from threedom (57.1%), while posting a 49-37 rebounding advantage.

UCI’s 93 points were its best output this season, though its 19 turnovers were its second-most of the campaign.

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Big West Conference

UC Irvine 93, Cal State Northridge 84

CSUN – Hale-Edmerson 6, Ajayi 2, Smith 21, Parks 14, Warren 9, Wilbut 19, Dawson 7, Richardson 6.

3-pt. goals – Wilbut 3, Warren 1, Smith 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – Hale-Edmerson 1.

UCI – Best 8, Ndiaye 14, Young 36, Nelson 9, Dunning 5, Dimakopoulos 7, Wright 6, Galloway 4, Martin 2, Smith 2.

3-pt. goals – Young 4, Dimakopoulos 2, Nelson 1, Dunning 1.

Fouled out – Dimakopoulos.

Technicals – None.

Halftime – 39-35, UCI.