Men’s Basketball: ‘Eaters inch closer
RIVERSIDE – And now, it comes to this.
The UC Irvine men’s basketball team remained in position to win its third Big West Conference regular-season title in four seasons by taking care of UC Riverside, 68-56, on the Highlanders’ floor on Wednesday.
The Anteaters (18-13, 11-4 in conference) will play host to UC Davis on Saturday at 3 p.m. with a chance to claim the Big West crown with a victory.
“It’s the biggest home game that we’ve had since I’ve been here,” said UCI Coach Russell Turner of the showdown with the Aggies, who enter Thursday’s home game against Hawaii at 18-11, 10-4. “I hope our community is excited.”
Turner, in his seventh year, can finish no worse than second in the Big West standings, but would earn at least a share of the regular-season title should UC Davis lose Thursday.
Even if the Aggies lose to Hawaii, however, they would claim the No. 1 seed in the Big West Tournament by topping UCI on Saturday, as the Aggies would have swept the season series with the ‘Eaters.
If Davis wins on Thursday, the winner of Saturday’s showdown would be the outright champion, with the loser settling for second.
UCI was of no mind to settle after earning a tenuous 33-31 lead in the opening half that included six lead changes and four tie scores.
After Riverside (7-20, 5-11) scored the first basket of the second half, UCI went on a 12-0 run that put the visitors in control for good.
UCI seniors Luke Nelson, Ioannis Dimakopoulos and Jaron Martin accounted for 17 of 20 Irvine points during a span of nearly 10 minutes, after which the ‘Eaters held a 55-46 advantage.
Nelson, who became the school’s all-time leader in three-point field goals with the first of his four three-pointers just shy of four minutes into the contest, finished with a game-high 21 points.
Dimakopoulos had 14 of his 19 points in the first half. His three-point play on a dunk after taking a pass from Martin created a 62-50 edge with 3:03 left. The 7-foot-2 Dimakopoulos was seven for 13 from the field, including one three-pointer, and netted all four of his foul shots.
Martin had 14 points on five-for-10 field-goal shooting and matched Nelson with a team-best three assists.
Nelson led the winners with three steals, but also had a team-worst four turnovers, as the Anteaters committed 15 of the game’s 28 miscues.
“It has been an impressive class,” Turner said of the senior trio that will have everything on the line in their final home game Saturday. “All these guys came to Irvine for the opportunity we’re going to have this weekend. I don’t want to make more of it than it is. This is what we set out to do and whatever happens in that game, we’re going to shift gears and refocus right after it. This team has earned the opportunity to play in a college basketball game that means a lot to all of us.”
Turner said rebounding was the difference Wednesday, when UCI earned a 43-31 advantage on the glass and amassed 17 offensive boards to create a 17-2 windfall in second-chance points.
Junior Jonathan Galloway led the winners with seven rebounds, six of which were offensive.
Sophomore Brandon Smith and freshman reserve Eyassu Worku had six rebounds apiece, while Dimakopoulos and freshman Tommy Rutherford each added five.
UCI, which came in ranked No. 7 in the nation in field-goal-percentage defense (.385) held the Highlanders to 26.9% field-goal shooting after halftime. Riverside, which has lost seven straight, finished 17 of 51 for the game (33.3%).
UCI was 13 for 22 from the foul line (59.1%), but sank 11 of its final 14 free-throw attempts.
Big West Conference
UC Irvine 68, UC Riverside 56
UCI – Galloway 7, Smith 0, Dimakopoulos 19, Nelson 21, Martin 14, Worku 3, Rutherford 2, Rivers 2.
3-pt. goals – Nelson 4, Martin 2, Dimakopoulos 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
UCR – Johnson 17 , Rosser 5, Larsson 2, Thames 8, Thomas 7, Martin 8, Dijkstra 7, Murray 2.
3-pt. goals – Thames 2, Martin 2, Johnson 2, Thomas 1, Dijkstra 1.
Fouled out – Rosser.
Technicals – None.
Twitter: @BarryFaulkner5
