The UC Irvine Men’s Basketball team (14-8, 8-4) bounced back from a heartbreaking 66-64 defeat to Cal State Fullerton on Thursday night with a 77-72 victory over Long Beach State (16-11, 10-3) Saturday, Feb. 27 in the team’s final game of the season at the Bren Events Center.
The Anteaters honored redshirt senior forward Collin Welp before the game during the senior night festivities, being the only senior on the team, playing his final game at the Bren in front of the home crowd.
Welp started out the scoring for UCI with a crafty fadeaway jumper, much to the delight of the fans.
The 2,480 fans in attendance were sent into a frenzy as UCI opened the game on a 7-0 run following a three-pointer from redshirt sophomore guard Justin Hohn. Hohn followed up his career-high 17 point performance from Thursday night as he racked on 13 points and five assists in the first half.
Junior forward Austin Johnson put UCI ahead 12-4 with 15:05 left in the first half, adding a tough and- one finish following an athletic offensive rebound..
Long Beach cut the deficit to three before Hohn connected on back-to-back three-pointers to put UCI back up by 13. The Anteaters extended their lead with a pair of three-pointers by redshirt sophomore guard Ofure “Big O” Ujadughele and junior guard Isaiah Lee. The Anteaters pulled ahead 35-14 with 4:08 left in the first half, securing a 14-0 Anteater scoring run.
Hohn finished off the half for the Anteaters with two free throws, giving them a 46-23 lead at the break. This was UCI’s largest scoring half in conference play this season and now holds the Big West’s highest scoring offense to just 23 first half points.
UCI held the Beach to just 27.6% shooting after the first half. Welp spoke about the keys to his team’s defensive effort in the first half.
“Just sticking to our game plan and principles,” Welp said. “They have a couple of high scoring players and it was a key to focus on them and keep them from getting hot.”
The Anteaters played an extremely motivating half of basketball but the Beach turned the tide in the second half.
Long Beach executed a full-court pressure defensive scheme, forcing ball handlers towards the sidelines and looking to force UCI out of their comfort zone. With just over 17 minutes left, the Beach creeped behind, 48-31.
UCI’s bench came in with a sense of urgency. Sophomore guard DJ Davis shifted multiple defenders with his euro-step layup, redshirt sophomore center Emmanuel Tshimanga worked Beach defenders in the post, Ujadughele provided energy and defense and Lee splashed a three to complete a 7-0 run. UCI added some cushion to their lead, making the score 55-31.
The Beach responded accordingly with their own 7-0 run and the tide completely shifted in their favor after freshman forward Aboubacar Traore chased down Welp’s fastbreak layup and blocked it, leading to a Long Beach three. This five-point swing trimmed the lead down to 14, and momentum was now on the Beach’s side.
The second half had; both teams running up and down the court, proving to be fatal for UCI. The Beach’s defense made it seem like the ‘Eaters ran in sand as they executed sloppy turnovers and took quick shots — exactly what Long Beach wanted. Whenever UCI had a comfortable lead, the Beach responded and kept the Anteaters at bay.
With just under three and a half minutes left, Long Beach finally got UCI’s lead under single digits after a Traore layup, 71-62. The Anteaters had trouble inbounding the ball and getting it past half court as turnovers piled up. More sloppy play led to easy transition Beach baskets, and the lead was down to a single possession — 71-68 — with under two minutes left.
Desperately needing a bucket, UCI turned to sophomore guard Dawson Baker as he knocked down a mid-range jumpshot to calm down the storm, 73-68. However, Baker’s offensive efforts would not be matched with his team’s defensive efforts as the Beach quickly scored back-to-back layups — both by Traore — to bring them within a single point, 73-72.
47 seconds left in the game and it’s the Anteater’s ball. There’s no doubt who is going to get the ball; in his last game at the Bren, Welp received the ball at the left elbow, sized up his defender and pulled up for his patented mid-range jumper. With ice in his veins, Welp put UCI on top 75-72 with 32 seconds left. It was the senior’s night.
“It was a play for me and [Long Beach] switched it so I got a smaller player on me,” Welp said. “So I just backed him down and got to my spot.”
Long Beach turned the ball over and Baker knocked down two freethrows to end off his team-leading, 18-point night — with 14 coming in the second half. UCI won 77-72.
Welp prepared to dunk the ball in the waning seconds of the game but decided to let the clock run out instead.
“I should have [dunked the ball]!” Welp said. “I can’t believe I didn’t! I’m so mad at myself … Man, I blew it.”
Despite the hilarious ending and reaction from Welp, he was sentimental reflecting on Senior Night.
“It was great to have my family here and some of my close friends and to see the gym packed,” Welp said. “It was great! I appreciate that and the amount of time given to me and my family.”
Despite 17 second-half turnovers, UCI head coach Russell Turner was very pleased his team was able to close out the win.
“I’m really happy that we finished it,” Turner said. “I thought that Collin, when we were down one, made a big play, got to his spot, rose up like a senior night moment and made the play … I think our team knows that we can be good, and we’ve proven that in spurts this year and games this year against some good opponents.”
UCI improved to 9-1 at home this season and will travel to take on the Cal Poly Mustangs Thursday, March 3 at 7 p.m. The game can be streamed on ESPN+, or the live stats can be viewed online.
Angus Wong is a Sports Staff Writer for the Winter 2022 quarter. He can be reached at anguscw@uci.edu.
James Huston is a Sports Staff Writer for the Winter 2022 quarter. He can be reached at hustonj@uci.edu.