It apparently isn’t enough for the UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball teams to meet for two Big West Conference games this weekend. They combined to turn in a tripleheader of sorts on Friday night at Titan Gym.
The Anteaters rather easily built a 20-point lead early in the second half, only to let the Titans’ aggressive press launch a comeback all the way to a tie at 71 with 5:07 remaining.
UCI gathered itself after the comeback as the Titans ran out of energy after the tie. Collin Welp hit a basket after a rebound and DJ Davis added two baskets after a Fullerton miss and a turnover to spark a 14-0 run and an eventual 89-78 victory.
The win keeps UCI in the Big West regular-season title race at 12-7 overall and 8-3 in league play. The Titans, coming off a two-week COVID-19-related break, fell to 5-7 overall and 4-7 in Big West play.
“It was a little bit shocking that we let them score 52 points in the second half,” UCI coach Russ Turner said. “We got a little soft and whiney in the second half and Fullerton took us out of (rhythm) with a normal half-court pressure game plan.
“Credit to Fullerton for doing what they had to go to get back in the game, taking advantage of fouls and getting to the line and forcing us into mistakes. I’m just proud we stayed in the game and won when things turned against us as strongly as they did.”
Freshman Dawson Baker led UC Irvine with a career-high 23 points, making 10 of 12 from the free-throw line and adding five rebounds and four assists. Unsung forward JC Butler had 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, Welp had 13 points and a team-high 11 rebounds and Davis had 11 points.
The Titans were led by Tray Maddox Jr. (14 points), Dante Maddox Jr. (14), Josh Hall (11 points, seven rebounds) and especially Johnny Wang (18 points), a senior center who stepped outside and made four 3-pointers. He came into the game with one 3-point basket all season.
Fullerton head coach Dedrique Taylor was not surprised his team came out slowly in the first half, letting UCI jump out to a 21-11 lead on the strength of four 3-pointers and then being burned when the Anteaters transitioned to drives and easy baskets. The margin was 14 points at halftime.
“I thought we might come out slow and unsure of ourselves after being off since January 30,” Taylor said. “But the second half, I couldn’t have asked for a better effort. They really gave us a chance to win when we got back to a tie.
“We just kind of ran out of energy. I think we’ll be better tomorrow night if we start off with the same energy we had in the second half.”
The teams meet again Saturday at 5 p.m. in the second game of the series at Titan Gym.
Both teams came into the game with serious goals. UCI had lost three of its last five league games and needed a win to stay among the Big West leaders. Fullerton, meanwhile, is playing its last conference series and last chance to improve its record and seeding in the Big West Tournament. Its March 5-6 games at UC San Diego won’t count as conference games.
The Anteaters neatly worked their outside-inside game, hitting four 3-pointers early, by JeRon Artest, Davis, Baker and Isaiah Lee, for a 10-point lead, and then reverted to going inside. Their next six baskets came on drives inside against a flat-footed Titan defense.
UCI increased its lead to 49-29 early in the second half, but also collected fouls at a fast pace and sent the Titans into the bonus with 13-plus minutes left. The Titans turned their press into turnovers and free-throw opportunities. UCI’s Austin Johnson and Brad Greene fouled out in the second half.
The Titans cut the deficit to six at the midway point, and then soared on a 13-3 run, Josh Hall scoring twice and Tray Maddox Jr. hitting a 3-pointer to draw even at 71. But the Titans went scoreless over the next four minutes.
In other Big West games, Long Beach State snapped a four-game losing streak with a 64-60 home win against Cal Poly; Hawaii edged Cal State Northridge, 75-74, and UC Riverside beat UC San Diego, 81-75.
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