The UCI Men’s Basketball team (10-5, 6-1) defeated the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (11-7, 7-4) at the Bren Events Center on Friday, Feb. 5 with a final score of 70-53.
UCI headed into the game looking to defend the Bren against the Big West’s newest member, CSU Bakersfield.
The opening tip-off went to UCI with redshirt senior center Brad Greene scoring the first bucket of the night. Roadrunner senior guard Czar Perry answered back with a layup of his own, making the score 2-2 less than a minute in.
CSU Bakersfield started off strong with buckets from senior forward Shawn Stith and redshirt senior guard/forward Justin Edler-Davis. UCI ended the 7-2 run with a jumper from freshman guard Andre Henry, which brought the Anteaters up 4-7 within three minutes into the half.
Following a three-minute scoring drought from both teams, CSUB Bakersfield redshirt sophomore guard Shaun Williams and UCI redshirt junior forward Collin Welp got on the board. This brought the score to 6-9 at 13:26.
After some back and forth between the teams, the Roadrunners took the lead by three points after redshirt senior guard/forward Taze Moore’s jumper brought the score to 14-17. The Anteaters had a tough time rebounding, which was unheard of for them; CSU Bakersfield currently tops the conference in rebound margin.
UCI brought back some momentum and took back the lead by one point at 7:11. Freshman guard DJ Davis knocked down UCI’s first three of the night at 5:19, growing the Anteaters’ earned lead to 21-17.
The two teams exchanged many shots as freshman guard Dawson Baker, redshirt freshman center Emmanuel Tshimanga and redshirt freshman guard Ofure Ujadughele made numerous shots for UCI while junior forward Cameron Smith and Edler-Davis converted for Cal Poly. This brought the score to 35-27. Davis got fouled at the three by Perry and only made one of his three shots, which brought the first half to a close with UCI up 36-27.
A foul against sophomore guard Jeron Artest started off the second half, with Moore making his two free throws bringing the score to 36-29. Welp scored his eighth point of the night at 17:24 and with an and-one conversion, increasing the Anteaters’ lead to 42-29.
The Anteaters struggled to shoot the ball for a few minutes before sophomore guard Isaiah Lee scored his first bucket of night at 14:36, making the score 45-29. CSU Bakersfield experienced a six-minute scoring drought before junior guard Grehlon Easter found the basket for three, bringing them up 45-32.
The two teams traded shots featuring baskets by Welp, Williams, Baker, CSU Bakersfield senior guard/forward Justin McCall, Perry, Greene and CSU Bakersfield redshirt senior guard De’Monte Buckingham, which resulted in the Anteaters holding onto their strong lead, 53-41, with eight minutes remaining. The Anteaters picked up their scoring speed, making the score 61-48 after Baker’s layup at 2:23.
Edler-Davis’ three pointer came a bit too late with 50 seconds remaining, only bringing up the score 65-51. The Anteaters held their largest lead of the night by 19 points after Welp scored two free throws. Buckingham’s jumper at the buzzer brought the night to an end with UCI finishing strong, 70-53. This increased UCI’s home-game winning streak to 8-0.
The Anteaters played a fierce game as the statline piled on throughout the night. Welp finished the night with 16 points, five rebounds and a career high of four blocks. Greene reached a personal record of 600 total rebounds after going eight points and eight rebounds for the night. Finally, Baker ended with 11 points and two rebounds. It was an all around dominant offensive showing for the Anteaters.
UCI’s head coach Russell Turner told UCI Athletics how impressed he was with the team’s performance in the post-game interview.
“All 13 guys who played tonight, I feel like are working hard to earn those minutes,” Turner said. “I’m proud of [sophomore forward] Dean Keeler, that’s the best he’s looked since he came back from injury, … [redshirt freshman guard] Justin Hohn and his minutes had a big impact, … Ofure [Ujadughele] I can always count on to energize our team, … [and Colin Welp] played like a leader tonight.”
The Anteaters will face the Roadrunners again on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. at the Bren Events Center.
Harleen Thandi is a Sports Intern for the 2020 Fall Quarter. She can be reached at hthandi@uci.edu.
