Men’s Basketball: ‘Eaters add to streak

The way the UC Irvine men’s basketball team is playing, it’s more likely to lose interest than lose.

Coach Russell Turner’s Anteaters built a commanding 22-point first-half lead, saw it trimmed to 11, then expanded their cushion once again on their way to an 87-67 Big West Conference win over Cal State Fullerton in front of 2,468 on Saturday at the Bren Events Center.

Senior Luke Nelson scored a season-high 20 points and 7-foot-2 senior Ioannis Dimakopoulos added 19 to help UCI maintain at least a share of first place and improve to 11-9, 4-0 in conference.

Nelson, who missed the first 15 games with a hamstring injury, made seven of 11 field-goal attempts, including three of four from three-point range in 24 minutes. He also was a primary defender on Titans’ senior Tre’ Coggins.

Coggins, who came in leading the conference in scoring (19.3 per game) after a 34-point game in a win Thursday at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, missed all 10 of his field-goal attempts and had a season-low three points.

“Luke started the game on Coggins and I thought he really took [the challenge] personally as a senior,” Turner said. “[Nelson] is known around the conference for being excellent on both sides of the ball.”

Nelson and Turner said defense was key Saturday, particularly in the first half when Fullerton (8-9, 2-2) had just three field goals in the first 18 minutes and finished six for 21 from the field (28.6%).

UCI, including Dimakopoulos, who made nine of 13 from the field, finished 33 for 53 for a season-best 62.4%.

“I thought our guys were locked into the game plan, in particular the challenge of playing Coggins,” Turner said. “What was most satisfying to me was that we were excellent both in man-to-man and in our zone. Throughout our roster, we had a real strong focus on our game plan and we executed.

“You have to single out Ioannis Dimakopoulos as a guy who set the tone in this game, and being a guy [the Titans] could not stop,” Turner said.

As usual, UCI, with a roster including seven freshmen, played 12 players in the first half. The Titans finally began taking advantage by making a run after halftime.

“I’d like to win every possession, but to Fullerton’s credit, they fought and made a run and that’s going to happen,” Turner said. “That happened in tonight’s game when had a bunch of young players on the floor. When I went back to our veterans, we regained control of the game. I’m pleased that we withstood that. There have been a lot of teams that have come back from 20 down in college basketball this year, so I thought we maintained our focus on continuing to play and that’s what we need to do.”

Turner said he has ample ability to deter complacency among his players.

“We know the hardest thing to handle in college basketball is success,” said Turner, whose team has won six straight, but will play four of its next five games on the road. “I wear a size 16 [shoe] and I have a loud voice, and I can blow real hard on my whistle. We have things we do in practice that can get guys’ attention. I didn’t think we had the focus necessary to be at our best in Santa Barbara [Thursday], and I think that helped us a little in preparation for this game.

“We’re young and we’re hungry and hopefully we’re committed to improvement. I know I am and I think our seniors are, and what I sense is that our young guys are learning the way we do things.”

UCI visits Cal Poly on Wednesday and is at Cal State Northridge, which shared the conference lead coming into Saturday, on Saturday.

BIG WEST CONFERENCE

UC Irvine 87, Cal State Fullerton 67

CSF – Rowe 11, Malone 2, Allman Jr. 13, Leslie 9, Coggins 3, Awisoka 8, Robertson 8, Ahmad 7, Smith 3, Brill 2, Dearring 1.

3-pt. goals – Rowe 1, Smith 1, Ahmad 1.

Fouled out – Ahmad.

Technicals – None.

UCI – Galloway 5, Smith 9, Dimakopoulos 19, Nelson 20, Martin 8, Greene 7, Worku 7, Hazzard 7, Leonard 4, Rutherford 1.

3-pt. goals – Nelson 3, Leonard 1, Hazzard 1.

Fouled out – Greene.

Technicals – None.

Halftime – 45-28, UCI.