UC Irvine Gets Past San Jose State in Overtime

San Jose State’s Terry Cannon could not prevent UC Irvine from winning, but he did send the game into overtime Thursday night at the Bren Center.

In the extra period, the Anteaters pulled out an 86-81 victory in a matchup of the lowest teams in the Big West Conference standings. It drew Irvine’s smallest crowd of the season, 1,123.

Cannon, who scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half, made a three-point basket from the top of the key with 11 seconds left to tie the score in regulation. Then he gave San Jose a 77-75 lead with a baseline jumper shortly after overtime started. But the Spartans missed their next two shots, and Irvine eventually took a four-point lead on jumpers by Jeff Herdman and Cornelius Banks.

San Jose never got closer than two again.

Irvine led by 10 in the first half but trailed by four with less than two minutes left in regulation before Herdman made a three-point basket. He scored 21 points. Ricky Butler added 18.

Irvine (10-19, 5-12) doubled its victory total of last season and climbed into a tie for ninth in the conference with San Jose State (7-19, 5-12).