The UC Irvine Men’s Basketball team (22-5, 12-3) returned to the Bren Events Center for their last home game of the month, taking on the CSU Northridge Matadors (19-7, 11-4) on Feb. 20. Before this matchup, UCI dropped to second in the Big West standings after 15 league games, previously tied with UC San Diego. The CSUN Matadors, ranking third with one game behind the Anteaters, won today’s match 84-72.
The game began with UC Irvine quickly taking a 3-0 lead, thanks to a three-pointer from redshirt freshman guard Jurian Dixon. CSUN responded immediately, tying the game at 4-4 with a pair of free throws. Both teams traded points, but redshirt freshman Ben Egbo and senior center Bent Leuchten gave Irvine a slight edge.
CSUN briefly took a 13-11 lead, but UCI quickly matched the energy with a steal, a layup and a three-pointer from freshman guard Torian Lee. With momentum on their side, Lee sank another three-pointer, pushing UC Irvine ahead. Shortly after, three free throws — two from Dixon and one from Egbo — increased the Anteaters’ lead to 22-17.
As the game progressed, both teams continued to trade points. UC Irvine responded to two CSUN layups with two clean free throws from redshirt senior forward Devin Tillis, evening the score.
The intensity kept building and UCI began to assert their dominance with strong offensive plays, led by Lee. As the Matadors tried to catch up, a quick steal by Leuchten and a layup by Egbo pushed the score to 31-29.
In the closing moments of the first half, CSUN had two attempts to narrow the gap but couldn’t stop UCI. Just before the halftime buzzer, Leuchten sank four free throws, extending the Anteaters’ lead to 37-34 and giving them a slight but significant advantage.
CSUN opened the second half with a jump shot, reducing UC Irvine’s lead to 37-36. Leuchten responded with a layup and Tillis followed with a jump shot. However, the Matadors weren’t far behind. An Irvine foul allowed CSUN to score on a layup, tying the game at 41-41.
The Anteaters regained the lead after a few more possessions when graduate guard Justin Hohn hit two three-pointers. The Matadors quickly answered with a three-pointer of their own, and both teams went back and forth in a battle for control of the game.
The lead shifted again as a Northridge layup and two free throws again tied the game. Graduate guard Ofure Ujadughele sank a three-pointer, putting the Anteaters ahead at 53-51. UCI extended their lead with another three-pointer from Lee, followed by Leuchten’s solid contribution of two free throws. However, the Matadors continued to dominate the boards and hit critical shots to regain the lead, 63-61.
With just 26 seconds remaining in the game, CSUN sophomore forward Marcus Adams Jr. slammed down a powerful dunk in the paint, extending the Matadors’ lead to 80-71. However, just moments later, UCI head coach Russell Turner was assessed two technical fouls, and CSUN senior forward Keonte Jones committed a foul.
This set up a series of free throws for Northridge junior guard/forward Scotty Washington, who sank all four attempts and pushed the lead to 84-71. Turner was ejected following the technical fouls against him, sealing the fate of the game. CSUN secured the victory with a final score of 84-72.
UC Irvine, traveling north to face CSU Bakersfield on Feb. 22, emerged victorious with a 73-64 win. They will play the CSU Fullerton Titans in Fullerton next on Feb. 27.
Abigail Park is a Sports Staff Writer. She can be reached at appark@uci.edu.
Edited by Jack Fedor