The UC Irvine Men’s Basketball team (6-1-0, 0-0-0) lost to Pepperdine University (4-2-0, 0-0-0), 55-64, at the Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu on Saturday, Nov. 19. Irvine’s stingy defense and good rebounds were not enough to overcome an ice cold night from the floor.
The first minutes of the game seemed promising as Irvine was able to play their game, spacing Pepperdine out for drive and kicks while playing physical on the glass. This netted them a fifteen point lead and they seemed poised to roll through the Waves.
Pepperdine locked down on defense and started taking what Irvine would give them, kicking down threes and punishing closeouts with sharp dribble drives.
The Anteaters attempted to get back into the game with a few good offensive possessions, but they could not make a basket. Good looks from midrange, the three point line and around the paint could not find the basket and the Wave made up ground.
Pepperdine executed a 17-2 run over the course of six and a half excruciating minutes, bringing both teams to a tie. Irvine was able to fight back to gain a one point lead going into halftime, but the ‘Eaters looked and played shell shocked.
The Waves were able to quickly claim the lead coming out of the break and never looked back. Team defense and good coaching created good opportunities, and the players executed.
Irvine was able to put themselves in lots of good situations, playing hard on the boards and giving stellar effort on defense, but offensive impotence eventually sapped their focus.
Coaches tried to fix this problem with frequent substitutions and different looks, but the team still struggled to make shots as Pepperdine doggedly defended their lead. Ultimately, Irvine was unable to slow down the game through free throws and post possessions to reset the momentum, and simply got caught up in the Wave.
The Anteaters returned back to their winning ways with a 116-54 closeout match against Life Pacific at the Bren Events Center on Monday, Nov. 21. The team then traveled to the Las Vegas Holiday Classic where the ‘Eaters faced Nicholls State University on Friday, Nov. 25 resulting in a 83-56 win. Following, on Saturday, Nov. 26 the Anteaters took another dub against New Mexico State ending with a 85-68 victory.
The ‘Eaters will next take on San Diego State in San Diego on Tuesday, Nov. 29. Watch the match here.
Benjamin Hendricks is a Sports Staff Writer. He can be reached at bahendr1@uci.edu.