‘Eaters sizzle in win

FULLERTON — Perhaps the last time shooters enjoyed this much comfort was over the weekend in Toronto.

Wednesday’s Big West Conference men’s basketball battle between UC Irvine and host Cal State Fullerton at times resembled the NBA All-Star proceedings. There were indeed some conspicuous lapses in defense, and there certainly seemed to be a three-point shooting contest.

UCI came away with the upper hand in all the offensive fireworks, rallying for a 96-77 triumph that included some impressive offensive numbers.

The Anteaters (20-7, 9-2 in conference) shot 76% from the field (19 for 25) in the 60-point second half, during which they were nine for 11 from three-point range (81.8%). During one stretch, the visitors made 13 straight field-goal attempts to fuel a 27-5 run over a span of 7:21 that left them with a 74-58 cushion.

UCI had 17 assists in the second half to give it a season-high 27 on its 34 field goals. The ‘Eaters, who secured their fourth straight 20-win season, a first in the 51-season history of the program, finished 34 for 56 from the field (60.7%), and their 13 three-pointers on 24 attempts (54.2%) was also a season-best.

The 96 points also is UCI’s best output this season.

But UCI needed its second-half inferno to overcome being smoked by the Titans (9-16, 2-10) in the opening 20 minutes. Cal State Fullerton, which has now lost nine straight to UCI, shot 57.1% overall and 58.3% from threedom (seven for 12) on its way to a 42-36 halftime lead.

The 42 points were the most surrendered in an opening half all season by UCI and tied the most in an opening half by the Titans all season.

“We weren’t a very committed defensive team in the first half and that concerns me, because we got a little away from our identity,” said UCI Coach Russell Turner, whose squad entered the week No. 9 in the country in field-goal-percentage defense (.381).

Fullerton, which finished the opening half on a 13-4 surge, still held a 57-56 advantage with 10:35 left. But four consecutive UCI three-pointers, by four different players, helped the visitors turn the tide for good.

Junior reserve guard Jaron Martin made all four of his three-point tries after intermission and finished six for eight beyond the arc to lead the winners with 18 points. He had a career-best 22 points in the Jan. 20 home win over Cal State Fullerton.

Six Anteaters, including seldom-used Haroldas Saprykinas and Spencer Rivers, contributed to the UCI damage from distance that rendered four more three-pointers than its previous season-best (nine).

Defensively, UCI also corrected itself at halftime, when Turner said he was thoroughly calm and collected, allowing his staff to make key adjustments.

Fullerton was 12 for 27 after the break (44.4%), including five for 13 from three-point range (38.5%), though it finished 28 for 55 from the field (50.9%) for the game.

“My staff was really good [at halftime] and the players executed what we asked them to do in the second half,” Turner said. “I felt like we wore [the Titans] down a little bit.

“We were acting like we were guarding them [in the first half], but we weren’t really guarding them,” Turner said. “And there’s a big difference in not much difference.”

Junior Mamadou Ndiaye was six for nine from the field and five for seven from the foul line to produce 17 points. He shared the team rebounding lead with five and added two blocked shots.

Senior Alex Young, coming off a career-best 36 points in Saturday’s home win over Cal State Northridge, had eight of his 13 points in the first half. He added five assists and wound up six for 10 from the field.

Junior Luke Nelson had 10 assists to go with his 12 points, while senior Aaron Wright made four of seven field-goal attempts, including half of his four three-point tries, to produce 12 points in 22 reserve minutes. Wright also had five rebounds and six assists.

Malcolm Brooks led four Titans in double figures with 22 points, as Brooks, Tre Coggins (17 points) and Khalil Ahmad (12 points) were a combined 21 for 42 from the field, including 10 for 21 from threedom.

UCI, one-half game behind Big West-leading Hawaii (20-3, 9-1), plays host to the Rainbow Warriors on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. UCI was thumped at Hawaii, 74-52, on Feb. 11.

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Big West Conference

UC Irvine 96, Cal State Fullerton 77

CSF – Henderson 4, Akoh 2, Brooks 22, Coggins 17, Ahmad 13, Leslie 12, Myles 3, Allman 2, Esume 2.

3-pt. goals – Brooks 6, Coggins 3, Leslie 2, Ahmad 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

UCI – Best 6, Ndiaye 17, Young 13, Nelson 12, Dunning 2, Martin 18, Wright 12, Dimakopoulos 6, Rivers 5, Saprykinas 3, Galloway 2.

3-pt. goals – Martin 6, Nelson 2, Wright 2, Young 1, Saprykinas 1, Rivers 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

Halftime – 42-36, CSF.