Men’s Basketball: Anteaters roll at home
The biggest player wasn’t even on the court to alter shots for the UC Irvine men’s basketball team, yet UC Riverside played as if Mamadou Ndiaye, a 7-foot-6, 300-pounder, patrolled the paint for the first six minutes.
Ndiaye, who didn’t get the start, watched the Highlanders miss their first 11 shots. When the sophomore center came off the bench a couple minutes later, the Anteaters allowed their first basket. Maybe the Highlanders prepared to see Ndiaye in the starting lineup.
It was Ndiaye’s second game back after he missed nine in a row with a foot injury, but UCI used him off the bench again. The Anteaters didn’t need many minutes from their big man to earn their first Big West Conference win. They easily got past the Highlanders, 69-55, at the Bren Events Center on Saturday night.
The victory is the first for UCI (8-8, 1-1 in conference) in the New Year. The Anteaters had lost their past two contests by a combined nine points, including an 88-82 setback to Long Beach State in a conference opener Thursday.
The Anteaters’ second home contest in three days was never in doubt, as guards Alex Young and Jaron Martin led the way. Young finished with 14 points on six-for-eight shooting, to go with six rebounds, five assists, three steals and one block. Martin knocked down four of six three-pointers to finish with a career-high 16 points.
Martin, a sophomore, has been filling in for Luke Nelson, the Big West Conference Freshman of the Year last season. With Nelson sitting out his fifth consecutive game with a facial fracture, Martin started and gave UCI 30 quality minutes, going six for 10 from the field.
“[Martin] makes us a better team,” said Anteaters Coach Russell Turner, who added that he’s hopeful that Nelson, the team’s leading scorer last season, can return for UCI’s conference game at Cal State Fullerton on Thursday.
The contest will mark the Anteaters’ first of three straight on the road. The other two are against Cal State Northridge (Jan. 22) and Hawaii (Jan. 24). Turner sees the stretch as critical for UCI, the defending regular-season conference champion.
The Anteaters hit the road with some momentum, thanks to the Highlanders (8-8, 1-1) falling apart from the start.The visitors went scoreless for nearly the first eight minutes. They couldn’t hit a shot, and UCI took advantage of the Highlanders’ shooting woes. The Anteaters scored the first 10 points, six from three-point range, where Martin and Young each knocked down shots.
To make matters worse for the Highlanders, the Anteaters brought Ndiaye off the bench six minutes into the first half. With Ndiaye on the court, the Highlanders finally scored on a jumper by Nick Gruninger at the 12:09 mark.
The Highlanders actually went on a mini run, hitting three straight field goals with Ndiaye in to cut the deficit to four points. Then Ndiaye began to make his presence felt, throwing down a dunk off an alley-oop pass from Young to spark a 13-2 run, as UCI regained control, 29-12.
During the surge, Young nailed two jumpers and Martin swished a floater and a three, while John Ryan hit a hook shot. Young led the Anteaters with 11 points in the first half, helping them shoot 50% and earn a 29-17 lead.
The second half featured more UCI. The hosts produced the first 10 points in a half for the second time. The Anteaters opened the second half on fire, going four for four from the field. Half of those shots were from behind the arc. Travis Souza and Martin each hit a three, putting UCI up, 39-17.
Souza added another three with 17:34 left, giving the Anteaters a 42-18 lead, their largest. They wound up making seven of 10 threes.
The Highlanders tried to keep up in the second half, going five for nine from three-point range. Guard Jaylen Bland had two of the threes, finishing with 12 points, matching Taylor Johns for tops on the team.
“I thought we were terrific defensively in the early going,” said Turner, whose team limited the Highlanders to 24.1% shooting in the first half. “We were especially good against their best two players, Taylor Johns and Jaylen Bland. Our shot blockers [Ryan and Will Davis] were really a factor [coming up with a block each] in the first part of the game, the first eight minutes of the game, and that set the tone.”
When Ryan and Davis weren’t creating problems for the Highlanders, Ndiaye gave them fits during his 15 minutes. Ndiaye had 10 points on four-for-eight shooting, and he added three rebounds and a block.
Turner said Ndiaye can start now, but he’s electing to bring him off the bench.
“It’s important for us to build his stamina back up the right way,” Turner said. “He’s clearly an impactful player for us, [but he] missed a lot of time. I was pleased with the minutes that he gave us in each of the games this week. I think we’re going to be able to continue to add more to his load.”
Big West Conference
UC Irvine 69,
UC Riverside 55
UCR – Johns 12, Thornton 5, Larsson 1, Bland 12, Gruninger 4, Boezeman 6, Thiero 6, Tang 3, Quick 6.
3-pt. goals – Bland 2, Boezeman 2, Thornton 1, Tang 1.
UCI – Ryan 6, Martin 16, Young 14, Souza 8, Davis 5, Ray 2, Dunning 6, Best 2, Ndiaye 10.
3-pt. goals – Martin 4, Souza 2, Young 1.
Halftime – 29-17, UCI.