The UCI Men’s basketball team (8-7, 3-3) defeated the Cal Poly Mustangs (5-13, 1-5) 72-48 at the Bren Events Center on Saturday, Jan. 29.
UCI redshirt sophomore guard Justin Hohn tied his career high with 13 points, three rebounds and one assist in 17 minutes of action. Redshirt senior forward Collin Welp added 10 points, four rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes.
The Anteater offense got off to a sluggish start, going scoreless in nearly the first two and a half minutes of the game. Welp finally broke the streak with a tough driving layup to tie the game at 2-2 with 17 minutes left in the half.
Both teams traded baskets until UCI completed a 9-0 run taking a 15-6 lead following two free throws from sophomore guard DJ Davis with 9:32 remaining.
Following a jumper by Davis and a three pointer from Hohn assisted by Davis, UCI saw their lead increase to 20-8 within a minute. The Anteaters continued adding to the 25-14 lead following an and-1 bucket by freshman center Bent Leuchten.
The ‘Eaters obtained their largest lead of the first half at 15 points with a layup by redshirt junior forward JC Butler. Butler finished the night with nine points, shooting 4-4 from the field, and four rebounds.
With a final jumper from Hohn, UCI ended the first half with a 31-19 lead. Hohn led the ‘Eaters in scoring at the end of the half shooting 4-5 from the field with 11 points.
UCI capitalized on the momentum they built in the first half, opening with a steal and a layup by sophomore guard Dawson Baker and a big time swat from junior forward Austin Johnson. A couple of plays later, Johnson posterized two Mustangs underneath the basket as the Bren roared with approval.
Despite foul trouble in the second half, the Anteater defense was aggressive and they managed to secure easy transition points. Butler and redshirt sophomore guard Ofure Ujadughele got consecutive and-1 layups to completely shift the game in UCI’s favor.
With Leuchten anchoring the defense, Welp’s crafty post moves and a “Baker Bomb,” the Anteaters extended their lead to 20 points. Johnson fouled out with over 6:30 left and the Mustangs were also in the double bonus, but UCI felt secure on the court with their sizable lead.
A majority of the Anteaters managed to score in a complete team effort as they took down the Mustangs 72-48.
UCI head coach Russell Turner spoke about the importance of the win.
“I thought we were ready tonight, and it’s not easy to be ready throughout the season,” Turner said. “This team is competitive [and] this team can defend at a high level. Tonight, I thought we were exceptionally unselfish, almost too unselfish at times.”
UCI improves to 8-7 overall and 6-1 at home. They will travel to play UCSB on Thursday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. at the Thunderdome in Santa Barbara, CA. The game can be streamed on ESPN+, and the live stats can be accessed online.
James Huston is a Sports Staff Writer for the winter 2022 quarter. He can be reached at hustonj@uci.edu.
Angus Wong is a Sports Staff Writer for the winter 2022 quarter. He can be reached at anguscw@uci.edu.