Hawaii adds to lead in Big West against UCI
UC Irvine called upon three proven big shot-makers to try to salvage a share of first place in the Big West Conference men’s basketball race on Saturday.
But senior Alex Young, junior Luke Nelson and junior Jaron Martin all missed three-point attempts in the final 19 seconds as visiting Hawaii rallied for a 75-71 victory in front of 4,312 at the Bren Events Center.
The Rainbow Warriors (22-3, 11-1 in conference), who scored the final nine points of the game in the last 1:45, now have a two-game lead over the Anteaters (20-8, 9-3) and Long Beach State with three regular-season conference games remaining.
Young failed to connect from near the top of the circle with 19 seconds left, after Hawaii junior Aaron Valdes drilled a three-pointer from the right corner with 40 seconds remaining to give the visitors a 72-71 lead.
The rebound of Young’s miss went out of bounds to UCI with 16.9 seconds left and, after a timeout, the Anteaters created an open shot for Nelson from the right corner. But Nelson, who led UCI with 18 points, seven assists and four steals, couldn’t find the net and Hawaii was fouled on the rebound.
Hawaii senior Roderick Bobbitt netted two free throws with 10.7 ticks remaining.
After a timeout, UCI elected to go to the right wing to Martin, who misfired while splaying his legs to try to draw a foul with four seconds left.
Hawaii’s Mike Thomas rebounded and was fouled with seven-tenths of a second left. Thomas hit the second of two foul shots to finalize the score and give Hawaii six straight wins and 14 victories in its last 15 games.
A Nelson layup with 2:11 remaining helped UCI gain apparent control, 71-66, in a seesaw final eight minutes.
Mamadou Ndiaye, UCI’s 7-foot-6 junior center, was six for seven from the field to contribute 15 points and he led the winners with seven rebounds and three blocked shots.
Senior Mike Best had 14 points, five rebounds and two blocks, while Young added seven points and six assists. Young did not commit a turnover in 32 minutes.
UCI, which won the conference regular-season title in 2014, defeated Hawaii in the Big West Tournament final last season to earn the conference’s automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
UCI will once again need to make the best of its opportunity in the conference tournament to claim any Big West spoils.
Hawaii was led by 6-11 junior Stefan Jancovic, who had 25 points and six rebounds. Jancovic’s three-pointer with 3:34 left pulled Hawaii within 68-66.
UCI led, 38-30 at halftime and was up, 58-52 with 9:24 left.
The Anteaters led for just more than 31 minutes of the contest that featured seven lead changes and three tie scores.
UCI big men Ndiaye, Best, Jonathan Galloway and Ioannis Dimakopoulos combined to make 16 of 23 field-goal attempts (69.6%). But the rest of the squad was nine for 33 from the field (27.3%), as UCI finished at 44.6% from the field.
The ‘Eaters, who made nine of 11 three-point attempts in the second half, and had a season-best 13 three-pointers in Wednesday’s win at Cal State Fullerton, were three for 18 from threedom Saturday.
Hawaii finished seven for 19 from beyond the arc (36.8%), including five for 12 after intermission.
The Rainbow Warriors shot 47.2% for the game (25 for 53).
UCI, which has lost three of its last six games, will try to bounce back Wednesday, when it plays host to rival Long Beach State (15-12, 9-3).
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Big West Conference
Hawaii 75, UC Irvine 71
UH – Thomas 10, Jankovic 25, Valdes 13, Bobbitt 7, Smith 2, Tummala 11, Drammeh 4, Fleming 3.
3-pt. goals – Tummala 3, Jankovic 2, Valdes 1, Fleming 1.
Fouled out – Tummala.
Technicals – None.
UCI – Best 14, Ndiaye 15, Nelson 18, Young 7, Dunning 2, Galloway 6, Dimakopoulos 4, Martin 3, Wright 2.
3-pt. goals – Nelson 1, Young 1, Martin 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
Halftime – 38-30, UCI.
