The UCI Men’s Basketball team (14-7, 7-2) fell to the Cal State University, Fullerton Titans (11-11, 6-2), 62-61, at the Titan Gym on Thursday, Jan. 26.
UCI, led once again by junior guards Dawson Baker and DJ Davis, was defeated in the final seconds of the game by the Titans’ sophomore guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr., who drained a timely three-pointer to put the Titans ahead 62-61.
Following similar patterns of the last match between the two teams, star duo Baker and Davis both went missing in the first half, scoring only nine of the ‘Eaters’ 28 points. To pick up the slack, UCI redshirt sophomore forward Devin Tillis pitched in with two three-pointers, and seven points were distributed between redshirt senior forward JC Butler, redshirt junior guard Ofure Ujadughele and senior forward Dean Keeler.
Paralleling the previous match, the Titans continued to play tough defense and forced UCI to commit, yet again, eight turnovers in the first half. CSU Fullerton converted 14 points off of turnovers, which was four more points than the previous game.
The Titans started off with an unrelenting pace that led to a 7-0 run. Once the score settled at 14-9, Anteater head coach Russell Turner called a timeout and the ‘Eaters responded swiftly to the Titan brigade with eight points of their own.
Despite the eight turnovers and only two points from Baker, the ‘Eaters remained only five points behind the Titans at the half, 33-28.
UCI was put on the back foot for much of the second half as well, but thanks to Baker’s 14-point resurgence in the second half, the ‘Eaters were able to stay afloat and even take the lead briefly at 46-45 with 11 minutes remaining. For the next 11 minutes, the two teams were neck and neck trading baskets until CSU Fullerton tied the score at 59-59 with one minute remaining.
Baker received the ball from Keeler on the wing and fired a two-pointer to take the lead 61-59 with 49 seconds remaining. A few unfortunate errors from the Titans led Davis to the line where he only managed to make one free throw. Wrightsell Jr., Titan’s leading scorer for the Titans, took advantage of the ball possession and sank a three-pointer, taking the lead at 62-61 with only three seconds remaining. The ‘Eaters were unable to recover and the final buzzer rang with the score reading 62-61 for their second Big West loss.
The Anteaters returned home on Saturday, Jan. 28 and defeated CSU Northridge 81-56. UCI looks to continue their winning streak away at UC San Diego for their first meeting on Thursday, Feb. 2.
Jason Garcia Escobar is a Sports Staff Writer for the winter 2023 quarter. He can be reached at jasonag3@uci.edu.
