In the Big West Championship semi-final, the UC Irvine Anteaters (23-12, 15-5) faced off against the California State University, Northridge (CSUN) Matadors (20-14, 12-8), with the Anteaters emerging victorious 93-78 on March 13.
The last time these two teams faced off, it took a late comeback and a dramatic buzzer-beater by Anteater redshirt sophomore Derin Saran to overcome an on-fire CSUN team. The Anteaters came into the game on March 13 determined not to let the game be so close this time.
The Anteaters won the jump ball, and redshirt sophomore guard Jurian Dixon opened the scoring with a deep three from the left wing. The Matadors opened their tally three minutes into the half with a layup by their senior guard Josiah Davis. Despite the Matador bucket, the Anteaters trudged on, going on a 15-2 run to begin the first half. However, a midrange jumper by Davis interrupted the run five minutes into the half, and the Matadors steadily began to come back thanks to Davis and senior guard Joshua O’Garro. Four minutes later, Irvine’s lead was cut down to ten, with the score 21-11.
For the rest of the half, the Matadors kept trying to cut the lead down further, but their efforts were repeatedly stopped by Irvine, especially through the scoring efforts of Dixon and Saran. Irvine was able to extend the lead to twelve, and by the end of the first half, the score was 49-37.
Saran opened Irvine’s tally in the second half with a three, extending the Irvine lead to 15. The Matadors responded a couple of possessions later with a layup by senior forward Mahmoud Fofana. As the game progressed, both teams traded shots in the interior. Matador redshirt freshman guard James Evans Jr. hit a three from the wing to break the streak and cut the Irvine lead back down to ten, making the score 60-50.
For the next eight minutes, both teams traded shots. At times, the Matadors cut the lead, while Irvine extended the lead even further at other times. With around six minutes left in the game, however, it seemed like Irvine had solidified a 16 point lead with a timely three by graduate guard Andre Henry. The rest of the game featured the Matadors trying time and time again to cut into the hefty Irvine lead, but Irvine continued to keep the Matadors at arm’s length. The game ended 93-78, in favor of Irvine.
Matador Davis and Anteater Saran led the game in scoring, with 26 and 23 points, respectively. Anteater Saran and senior forward Kyle Evans led the game in rebounds, with nine and eight rebounds, respectively. Irvine’s shooting helped them a lot this game, shooting four percentage points better from the field and from three.
UC Irvine fell in the Big West Championship game against the University of Hawai’i, with a 71-64 loss on March 14.
Aaron Jaison is a Sports Writer for the winter 2026 quarter. He can be reached at ajaison@uci.edu.
Edited by Jack Fedor and Geneses Navarro.
