The UCI Men’s Basketball team(1-0) netted their first win of the season, 87-83, in an exhibition match against the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (2-1) at the Bren Events Center on Thursday, Nov. 3.
UCI junior guard DJ Davis unleashed a career-high 28 points with five rebounds and two assists, squandering Alaska Anchorage’s winning chances.
Play began at a snail’s pace with UCI and Alaska Anchorage failing to score until UCI junior forward Devin Tillis scored a layup to put UCI up 2-0. Davis began his career best campaign early on with seven straight points, helping UCI reach 9-3.
At the 10 minute mark, UCI led 21-13. By the six minute mark, their lead extended to 27-16 — their biggest lead of the night. The Anteaters seemed set to run away with the game; however, the Anteater scoreline stood at 27 for over four minutes. In the meantime, Alaska Anchorage had caught up to trail by only five points.
Finally, UCI junior forward Chazz Hutchison broke the scoring drought with a well-placed freethrow that put UCI up by six points. UCI was only able to mount another point in the half but still managed to maintain a 29-25 lead.
To kick off the second half, Davis and Tillis contributed eight points to help maintain UCI’s lead at 38-30. The Anteaters and Seawolves traded points until the score settled 50-44 in UCI’s favor.
Eight minutes into the half, Alaska Anchorage went on a 9-2 run and gained the lead. Additionally, senior guard Da’zhon Wyche amassed five crucial points to keep them in the lead. Despite the Seawolves battling to put the Anteaters out of the game, the ‘Eaters were still able to score under pressure.
With a minute remaining in the game, the Anteaters were down 69-64. UCI senior forward Dean Keeler battled in the paint and scored a layup. With only 11 seconds remaining, junior guard Dawson Baker drilled a jumper to score the last two points that tied the score at 69-69, sending the game into overtime (OT).
The Seawolves failed to put away the Anteaters in regulation, and in OT the Anteaters pulled way ahead of the Seawolves with six massive points from the free throw line by Davis. Contributions from Dawson and UCI sophomore center Bent Leuchten eventually sealed the Seawolves fate, as the Anteater lead bloomed to seven points with the final score settling at 87-83.
Jason Garcia Escobar is a Sports Intern for the fall 2022 quarter. He can be reached at jasonag3@uci.edu.
