UC Irvine’s Men’s Basketball team (16-9, 9-4) dropped their ninth game of the season in a close match with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (SLO) Mustangs (10-16, 6-8), 79-73, at the Mott Athletic Center in San Luis Obispo, Calif. on Feb. 12.
After a couple of rebounds within the first three minutes of play, SLO got on the board first on a dunk by freshman forward Austin Goode in the paint, leading 2-0. The ‘Eaters quickly responded with a layup from senior forward Kyle Evans, tying the game 2-2.
Roughly two minutes later, another layup from Evans put the Anteaters ahead, 4-2. Irvine’s offensive run did not end there as a turnover from SLO’s sophomore guard Hamad Mousa led to a steal from Irvine’s redshirt sophomore guard Jurian Dixon which led to a layup from Irvine’s freshman guard Tama Isaac.
Now leading 6-2, Isaac was awarded a free throw after a foul was called on SLO’s sophomore guard Guzman Vasilic. After a team timeout, the ‘Eaters redshirt sophomore guard Derin Saran made a three-pointer with the assist from graduate guard Andre Henry at the 15:29 minute mark.
With less than fifteen minutes remaining in the first half, SLO was desperate to put an end to Irvine’s run. The Mustangs caught a break when two fouls on Evans and freshman forward Nes Emeneke were called, allowing for three successful free throws from sophomore guard Cayden Ward.
Slowly, the Mustangs began to chip away at the ‘Eaters lead and jumped ahead 11-10 on a three-pointer shot from sophomore guard Peter Bandelj. In an attempt to retake the lead, Irvine’s redshirt freshman guard Jovan Jester Jr. missed a three point shot, but a good jumper from Henry gave the Anteaters a 12-11 edge.
With an assist from Mousa, the Mustangs came back and held the lead, 14-12, with a successful three pointer from Goode. SLO’s lead began to fluctuate as Irvine was eager to equalize with time running out in the first half.
By the 7:35 minute mark, with a foul call on Ward, and a good free throw from Evans tied the game once again, 23-23. A dunk by Ward in the paint gave the Mustangs a momentary lead before a three pointer by Isaac gave Irvine a slim 26-25 lead.
A good layup by Saran started another tough Irvine run. Back-to-back free throws from Saran and a good three point shot from Henry gave Irvine an eight point lead, 33-25.
A layup from SLO’s freshman forward Troy Plumtree added to the Mustangs’ score with two minutes remaining. By the end of the first half, Irvine’s momentum was too much to overcome as time ran out with the ‘Eaters leading 42-29 over the Mustangs.
The second half began with missed shot attempts by both sides as they tried to find their rhythm — Irvine trying to stay ahead and SLO trying to catch up from behind. The Mustangs striked first with a three pointer from Ward at the 17:49 mark. Seconds later, Irvine’s redshirt junior forward Akiva McBirney-Griffin put down a layup for a 44-32 lead.
The next five minutes of play were detrimental for the ‘Eaters as the Mustangs found their own momentum and started a 14-point run that overwhelmed Irvine. What began with a layup from Ward, continued with a jumper by Goode and another layup by Mousa following a steal from Plumtree. Mustangs’ junior guard Jackson Mosley also made three straight free throws to add to the tally.
Now leading 48-47, the Mustangs could not allow the ‘Eaters to regain the lead. Ten minutes remained as a three pointer from Vasilic brought the score to a 54-52 SLO lead.
Irvine and SLO tied twice in the second half — once at the 7:09 mark and the second at the 5:37 mark — before a three pointer from Goode gave the Mustangs a breakthrough.
By the time two minutes remained in the game, SLO led by eight, 74-66. Irvine scratched a couple more points with two three-pointers from Saran and Dixon, but the Mustangs kept them at bay with consistent and successful free throws from Bandelj and Ward.
The game concluded with the Mustangs defeating the ‘Eaters, 79-73, in an intense face off. Irvine could not minimize SLO’s offensive run as they scored a total of 50 points in the second half. While Irvine had an impressive 14 steals in the game, the team recorded a total of 17 turnovers.
Despite the close loss to the Mustangs, the Anteaters came back home to Irvine where they defeated California State University, Fullerton, 86-65, at the Bren Events Center on Feb. 14. Their next match was against California State University, Long Beach on Feb. 19 in Long Beach, Calif.
Gissel Delgado is a Sports Staff Writer. She can be reached at gissead1@uci.edu.
Edited by Jack Fedor and Annabelle Aguirre