The UC Irvine Men’s Basketball team (18-6, 11-1) dominated UC Santa Barbara (13-9, 6–6) on the road, securing a 76-61 victory. Four Anteaters scored double-digit points in a well-balanced attack. It was yet another dominant night in the paint for UCI, outscoring the Gauchos 42-22.
UCSB jumped out with an early lead at the start of the game with junior guard Cole Anderson leading the early charge for the Gauchos. At the same time, UCI redshirt junior forward Devin Tillis carried the scoring load for the starting lineup’s first stint out on the floor. Freshman phenoms, guard Derin Saran and forward Carter Welling, sparked the offense off the bench. Saran’s pull-up three-pointer cut the quick UCSB lead to 13-15 with 12 minutes to go in the first half.
UCI fifth-year guard Pierre Crockrell II took the reigns himself, driving into the paint to score eight straight points for UCI, giving them a 21-16 lead. In his final bucket of the sequence, Crockrell drove into the paint then turned away nicely to bank in a fadeaway jumper. The Anteater defense stepped up big time in the last 10 minutes of the first half, forcing six turnovers and only allowing two points, which led to a UCI 12-2 run.
The streakiness of UCI, which has plagued them much of this season, returned as the ‘Eaters missed six straight shots after their 12-2 run. The dry spell, however, was broken by yet another basket in the paint by Crockrell. UCI junior center Bent Leuchten continued his stride of utter dominance on the defensive end, amassing three blocks in the first half. UCI went into halftime with a 33-24 lead.
UCI senior guard Andre Henry got the first points of the second half the same way he got his first points of the night, with a mid-range jumper. Leuchten then showed how versatile his game is, with a three-pointer from the top of the key to give the ‘Eaters their biggest lead of the night thus far at 14. UCI kept up the momentum and only extended the lead from then on. Welling added to his dunk reel with yet another one in this game, this time assisted by Crockrell.
The UCI guards kept feasting with drives into the paint. Saran connected on a couple of layups, stretching the lead all the way to 22 points with 11 minutes remaining in the game. Tillis joined in on the fun with a drive into the paint and a baby hook over his defender for his 11th point of the night.
The Gauchos made a late run to cut into the lead led by junior guard Ajay Mitchell connecting on a few tough buckets inside. However, the UCI defense took a stand and kept the lead at double digits. Tillis was the hot hand at the end of the game, scoring the final five points for the ‘Eaters.
The Anteaters ran away with it at the end, winning 76-61. After a testy first half, Irvine took a comfortable lead in the second half and refused to let up. Their sharp defense continues to set them apart from the rest of the pack of the Big West. Next up, UCI continues their road trip at the SRC Arena to take on UC Riverside (9-15, 4-8) on Saturday, Feb 10.
Miguel Rodriguez is a Sports Staff Writer. He can be reached at miguer9@uci.edu.
Edited by James Hutson, Jaheem Conley and Laiyla Santillan
