The UC Irvine Men’s Basketball team (15-7, 8-3) defeated the UC San Diego Tritons (8-15, 3-8), 76-60 at LionTree Arena in La Jolla, California on Thursday, Feb. 2.
UCI was lifted to victory through solid production by their usual scorers: junior guards Dawson Baker and DJ Davis. The star backcourt duo combined for 32 of the team’s 76 points. Davis saw his point production strictly come in the second half as all 14 of his points came after halftime. Baker was a go-to option for UCI scoring a team-high 18 points.
UCI jumped on the Tritons out of the gate going on a 7-0 run led by a strong five points from Baker. However, this was the lone bright spot of the half for UCI as the Tritons chipped away at the lead.
The story of the first half was the Tritons ability to make the three ball. UC San Diego’s sophomore forward Francis Nwaokorie led the first-half charge for the Tritons, burying three of his six shots from long range. Freshman guard/forward Quin Patterson also joined in on the shooting extravaganza, knocking down two three-point shots of his own and finishing the night with six points. The Tritons shot 7-17 from downtown, allowing them to keep pace with UCI in the first half.
UCI was not in the same shooting form as their opponents throughout the first half as they could only muster a dismal 2-14 (14.29%) performance from beyond the arc. This led to a tense first half for the Anteaters;they usually make their living from behind the line, coming in as the 12th best three point shooting team in the nation at 38.89%.
Redshirt freshmen forward Akiva McBirney-Griffin provided some relief for the Anteaters in the first half going 4-4 with eight points. McBirney-Griffin earned the start in his seventh straight game in place of injured sophomore center Bent Leuchten. McBirney-Griffin tallied another impressive night, adding six rebounds to his 10 points to end the game.
However, the Tritons were not going to be outdone. Redshirt junior guard Bryce Pope had a handful of floaters in the first half. Pope also had two first-half threes of his own, including one to beat the first-half buzzer. Pope finished the night with 15 points and he sent the Tritons into the locker room with a 37-33 lead.
Whatever struggles fell over the Anteaters in the first half had washed away by the second — they looked like a completely different team coming out of the break.
The second half was the DJ Davis show. Davis hit a three for his first bucket of the night with 18 minutes left in the second half. From there Davis didn’t look back, knocking down back-to-back three-point bombs to give UCI a 48-45 lead, capping off a 10-0 run for the Anteaters.
UCSD’s Nwaokorie answered immediately, knocking down a three in response to Davis and tying the score back up at 48. Nwaokorie finished the night as UC San Diego’s leading scorer and rebounder, notching nine rebounds to accompany his 18 points.
UC San Diego’s three-point luck dried up in the second half as they shot a measly 2-18 from three-point range. Without their three-point shot, which proved to be their secret weapon in the first and only nine players suited up due to injuries, it was only a matter of time until the Tritons’ demise in the second half.
Star UCSD freshman guard Roddie Anderson III tied the game up for the last time of the night at 50-50. Anderson III finished the night with 12 points and seven rebounds. A Triton three-pointer with 11 minutes left was UC San Diego’s last bucket until the four-minute mark. For the next seven minutes, the Anteaters went on a 12-3 run led by Baker and Davis.
Redshirt sophomore forward Devin Tillis scored six straight points in the final minute on four free throws and a layup to put the score at 76-60. These final buckets cemented the victory for UC Irvine.
The Anteaters’ 16-point victory secured their eighth win in Big West conference play. The Anteaters’ next game was against Long Beach State at the Walter Pyramid on Saturday, Feb. 4 where they would wind up losing 88-93.
Zeke Bellino is a Sports Intern for the winter 2023 quarter. He can be reached at zbellino@uci.edu.
