Men’s Basketball: ‘Eaters fall to Redbirds

The UC Irvine men’s basketball team fell, 85-71, to Illinois State in the opener of the NIT on Wednesday to complete its season.

Senior guard Jaron Martin led the Anteaters (21-15) with 24 points, while senior guard Luke Nelson, the Big West Conference Player of the Year, had 17 points and a team-best nine assists.

Both Martin and Nelson were five for 10 from three-point range to help UCI, which won the Big West regular-season title, finish 13 for 30 beyond the arc (43.3%).

But the Redbirds (28-6), the co-champions of the Missouri Valley Conference, whom many believed were among the foremost programs snubbed in the NCAA Tournament field, were 13 for 25 from threedom (52%) and shot 52.5% from the field to advance.

Deontae Hawkins made all six of his three-point attempts and was eight for 11 from the field to produce a team-best 22 points for Illinois State, which posted a 41-36 rebounding edge and had just eight of the game’s 18 turnovers.

UCI made just two of 10 from the foul line, while the Redbirds converted eight of their 13 free throws.

Junior Jonathan Galloway had six points and led UCI with 11 rebounds, while senior Ioannis Dimakopoulos had nine points and five rebounds in his final collegiate game.

— Barry Faulkner