The UC Irvine Men’s Basketball team (15-10, 9-6) fell 78-69 in a closely contested matchup against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (17-10, 9-5) in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Hercules Tires Big West Championships, presented by the Hawaiian Islands.
Both teams struggled to take a considerable lead early in this game, but UCSB played at a more intense level than UCI, getting offensive rebounds and drawing fouls. The Anteaters had committed six fouls just six minutes into the first half.
Santa Barbara senior forward Amadou Sow proved to be a challenge on the interior, scoring 12 points and gathering eight rebounds in just the first half. Nonetheless, the ‘Eaters held a 13-12 lead after a three-pointer by Davis. Unfortunately, that would be the last time the team would hold a lead in the first half.
The Gauchos scored three straight layups — capitalized by a tough finish by freshman guard Ajay Mitchell — to reclaim the lead, 18-13. A scoring drought for the ‘Eaters landed them in a 16-23 deficit until Davis decided to take matters into his own hands.
Davis scored 11 out of 13 points for UCI, helping to tie the game at 29 apiece. But Sow reclaimed his dominance with a hook shot, giving the Gauchos a 31-29 lead heading into the break.
The Anteaters again looked sluggish coming into the second half. A sloppy play from redshirt sophomore guard Justin Hohn led to an easy bucket for the Gauchos. However, a “Baker bomb” by Anteater sophomore guard Dawson Baker cut the Gaucho lead down to one, 32-33.
The Anteaters continued to struggle with interior defense in the second half. Sow proved to be a problem for them on the boards. He ignited a 16-5 run for the Gauchos, giving them a 53-40 lead with just over 12 minutes left in the game. The Anteaters were unable to come back from the run as the Gauchos led the rest of the way.
The Gauchos got out to their largest lead of the night with 4:55 left, 64-49, after a big three-pointer from redshirt junior guard Ajare Sanni.
Welp led the Anteaters in a desperate comeback attempt, scoring 8 of the team’s final 10 points. But in the end, the Gaucho’s rebounding differential and three-point field goal percentage were too much for UCI to overcome.
UCI was outrebounded, 36-29, and gave up a shocking 58.3% from the three-point line in the loss.
Sow led the Gauchos on scoring, finishing with a game high 21 points and 16 rebounds. Sanni finished with 20 points for the Gauchos, shooting 4-4 from beyond the arc.
Sophomore guard DJ Davis led the Anteaters, finishing with 21 points. Senior forward Collin Welp added 17 points and eight rebounds in his final game as an Anteater, and sophomore guard Dawson Baker finished with 16 for the ‘Eaters.
UCI head coach Russell Turner was emotional about his team’s early exit from the postseason.
“There was a belief in our team, we could be champions of this league. I thought that showed in our performance … but it wasn’t good enough,” Turner said after the game.
Turner was especially disappointed in himself when asked about Welp and his last game before graduating.
“Five years he committed to UC Irvine Basketball and our university. The way he’s represented us all along the way, becoming not just one of the best players in program history, but an outstanding leader … I feel like I let this team down — let Collin down,” Turner said.
On the topic of next season, Turner was optimistic about the team’s direction while still being mindful of this year’s team efforts.
“The focus I have right now is on the guys in my locker room [right now],” he said. “I do have great belief in the young talent on our team … So yes, the future is bright, but this isn’t probably the time to talk too much about that.”
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.