The UC Irvine Men’s Basketball team (16-6, 9-1) defeated Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (4-18, 0-10) at the Mott Athletics Center on Feb. 1. Freshman guard Derin Saran returned with a bang, leading the team with 17 points after missing some time with an injury.
Cal Poly started the game strong, scoring the first four points, but UCI rallied back with buckets from senior guard Andre Henry and redshirt senior guard Justin Hohn. The Anteaters found success early in the paint, with Hohn, Henry and Saran all driving into the key for layups.
The score went back and forth, with the Mustangs going on runs to take the lead, and the Anteaters answering back. The bulk of the scoring for the Mustangs came from senior guard Kobe Sanders who tallied 23 points. UCI fifth-year guard Pierre Crockrell II did what he does best as a pass-first point guard recording seven assists and four points.
The Anteaters continued their streaky scoring start with a jumper from redshirt junior forward Devin Tillis, giving them a 21-13 lead with eight minutes left in the first half. Cal Poly then answered back on a 9-0 run of their own to take back the lead 21-22. Saran was not only the highest scorer for the Anteaters, but was a menace on defense, recording four steals, many of which led to easy fast break buckets. UCI went into halftime leading the Mustangs, 35-32.
The Anteaters stretched their lead in the second half, with better defense and points in the paint. Although the team shot poorly at the three-point line, Saran went 3-4 from behind the arc, a nice bonus for a player who gets most of his points in the paint. Tillis joined the party getting a three to stretch the lead to 44-36. Tillis shot an efficient 7-9 from the field and finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.
A staple of UCI’s game was points off the bench as 33 of UCI’s 73 points came from bench players. Other than Saran’s 17, fifth-year forward Dean Keeler and freshman forward Carter Welling had eight and six points respectively.
Welling’s explosiveness off the bench once again shined in this game, with an emphatic dunk to increase the lead to 57-51 with six minutes left. He then converted on a layup to give the ‘Eaters their first double digit lead in the game, 61-51. Keeler also, once again, had a huge impact on the defensive end, ending the game with three blocks, an impact the Mustangs definitely felt in the second half.
Late three-point daggers from Henry and Hohn gave the ‘Eaters a 14 point victory, 73-59, a decisive margin that fails to reflect how competitive and scrappy the game was.
The win sets the Anteaters atop the Big West Conference tied with UC San Diego at 9-1. The ‘Eaters then continued their winning ways by beating Hawaii 93-68, at the Bren Events Center on Feb Sat, 3. Next up UC Irvine plays UC Santa Barbara in the Thunderdome at Santa Barbara on Feb 8.
Miguel Rodriguez is a Sports Staff Writer. He can be reached at miguer9@uci.edu.
