Men’s Basketball: Best, defense help UCI prevail
Dealing with what might have been some separation anxiety in only its second home game in the last dozen contests, the UC Irvine men’s basketball team used some late-half separation to overcome visiting New Mexico State on Saturday.
Senior forward Mike Best drilled a 18-foot jumper with 19 seconds left to cap an 8-0 Anteaters’ game-ending run and the hosts (11-5), ranked No. 16 in the CollegeInsider.com mid-major top 25, held the Aggies (8-7) scoreless over the final 2:57 to prevail.
New Mexico State junior guard Ian Baker, who hit a three-pointer with four seconds left to hand UCI a 70-67 loss in Las Cruces last season, missed an off-balance attempt from the right wing at the buzzer to give UCI its third narrow victory of the campaign, its fifth in as many home games in 2015-16.
Senior guard Alex Young tipped in a Mamadou Ndiaye miss with 1:09 left to pull the Anteaters even, 52-all, and junior Luke Nelson blocked a Taylor three-point try on the ensuing possession to set the stage for Best’s game-winner.
Nelson, who had just five points on two-for-nine shooting from the field, also made Taylor uncomfortable by bodying up on the last-second miss.
Young led the winners with 17 points, netting four of UCI’s final six points and assisting on Best’s clutch connection. Taylor made seven of 14 field-goal tries and added five rebounds, a game-best four steals, and three assists.
“The four steals were especially important,” UCI Coach Russell Turner said of Young, who had a pair of free throws in UCI’s 9-3 run to finish the first half. That surge turned into a 14-3 blitz when the ‘Eaters scored the first five points after halftime to take a 32-30 lead. “When [Young] has great energy for our team, that is contagious. He has been battling an illness for a long time, but I think he was back to 100% tonight. And we saw the kind of Alex Young performance we expect to see throughout the [Big West] conference season.”
Ndiaye and Best, who were a combined zero for six from the field in a scoreless first half, combined to make five of eight field-goal tries after intermission to finish with seven and six points, respectively. Ndiaye had a team-best six rebounds.
UCI held the Aggies to 34.6% field-goal shooting after halftime and forced 16 turnovers in the game to overcome a three-pronged offensive attack led by sophomore sensation Pascal Siakam. Siakam, who entered the week leading the nation in field goals (132) and double-doubles (12) and ranked sixth at 24.1 points per game, led his team with 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
“We’re a defensive team and we won with that tonight,” said Turner, who notched win No. 101 in his sixth season at UCI. “I’m happy with the win against a quality team with a championship culture [four straight Western Athletic Conference Tournament titles], which is something we are trying to build.
“I’m pleased with our team’s performance down the stretch, though I’d like to be better in the first 35 minutes. We have shown the ability to win close games and the guys believe they we can do it.
“I was disappointed with our energy. In the NBA, they always say it’s hard to come back home and play your first home game. For whatever reason, we weren’t right tonight, but we won.”
UCI allowed just two points in the paint in the second half to overcome shooting just 38.9% from the field, and making just four of 11 from three-point range, including zero for four from threedom.
UCI, which plays host to defending Big West regular-season champion UC Davis on Thursday to open conference play, had only seven turnovers.
“I think we have to be pleased with our record in this segment of the season, but I’m not satisfied,” Turner said. “I think we could have been better.”
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Nonconference
UC Irvine 54, New Mexico State 52
NMS – Siakam 17, Pennie 12, Wilkins 4, Baker 14, Taylor 0, Browne 3, Bhullar 2.
3-pt. goals – Pennie 4, Baker 2, Browne 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
UCI – Best 6, Ndiaye 7, Young 17, Nelson 5, Wright 5, Martin 6, Dimakopoulos 4, Galloway 4.
3-pt. goals – Young 1, Nelson 1, Wright 1, Martin 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
Halftime – 30-27, NMS.
