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College Basketball: UCI’s Martin sinks 49ers

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Sometimes college basketball’s best Cinderella stories happen before March.

Take UC Irvine sophomore Jaron Martin for example.

The former walk-on, who at 5-foot-10, 160 pounds has never made any opponent nervous, made the game-winning basket with 1.4 seconds left to lift the visiting Anteaters to a 56-55 Big West Conference victory over Long Beach State at Walter Pyramid on Saturday.

Martin, whom just one week ago UCI Coach Russell Turner said has something special, showed he could rise to the biggest moment of the ‘Eaters season.

After Long Beach State senior McKay LaSalle connected from three-point range with nine seconds left to give the 49ers only their second lead of the game, Martin found himself with the ball at the top of the key on the ensuing possession. Breaking toward the left of the lane, around a screen by Will Davis, Martin attacked a Long Beach big man inside, leaping and hooking the ball with his left, outside hand, off the glass and into the net to finalize the score.

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After a timeout, UCI’s Travis Souza intercepted the 49ers’ inbound pass near midcourt to secure the win that helped the defending conference regular-season champion (14-9, 7-2 in conference), pull into a second-place tie with Long Beach, one game behind UC Davis.

“That’s why I love college basketball,” Turner said after choking up while lavishing praise on Martin, who turned the ball over on a drive the previous time he touched the ball and was removed from the game with about one minute left. “He’s not a walk-on anymore. That man can play. That man has proved himself. There are all kinds of guys and when they don’t get to play and they don’t get an opportunity, they blame others and find reasons not to fight. That boy fights. And when his time came, he was ready.”

Martin made a three-pointer with 13:43 left that was the lone UCI tally during a 14-2 Long Beach State run that eventually put the hosts (13-12, 7-2) ahead for the first time, 41-40, with 11:13 left.

But UCI, which was led by Davis’ season-high 22 points on eight-for-10 shooting from the field, scored the next five points to spark a 10-2 run that created a 50-43 advantage with 4:47 left.

But an 11-2 surge by the 49ers, capped by LaSalle’s apparent dagger from the left wing — set up by senior guard Mike Caffey’s kickout after driving the lane — threatened to push the ‘Eaters over the precipice of victory once more at the Pyramid. It’s a site that has historically been a graveyard for UCI leads, even those of the double-figure variety.

Davis helped the visitors seize a 17-6 cushion by scoring eight points in the a little more than the first four minutes, including a pair of dunks.

“Will was really good,” Turner said of the 6-8 veteran, who added seven rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot. “He is seizing the opportunity, as a senior, to step forward. It was really important for him to do that offensively with [junior guard Alex Young out with a left-foot injury sustained in the home loss to UC Davis on Thursday]. Will needed to be a tone-setter for us at that position, because there weren’t a lot of places we could look for scoring.”

Davis had 16 points by halftime, at which point UCI led, 34-27. Martin beat the halftime buzzer with a 14-foot floater that ended what had been a 10-2 Long Beach run.

Martin, who made just three of 11 field-goal attempts, finished with nine points, one more than the heralded Caffey, who missed all three of his second-half field-goal tries, his final five shots overall, and produced eight points. Caffey, who came in as the conference’s second-leading scorer at 17.8 per game and had 27 points, including making five of six three-point attempts in an 88-82 win at UCI on Jan. 8, was three for 13 from the field, zero for three from three-point range. He failed to score at least 10 points for only the fourth time all season.

“I told Aaron Wright [a junior guard who started in place of Young and guarded Caffey] he was player of the game, even though he went zero for six [from the field],” Turner said.

UCI received 10 rebounds, seven points and two blocks from senior John Ryan, while Souza and Luke Nelson had seven points apiece.

Wright had a team-best five assists and two steals to help UCI improve to 4-0 in conference road games.

But it was Martin who loomed most large at the end.

“Coach had faith in me,” Martin said. “He just said ‘Get the ball and make a play, whether it was to shoot or kick.’ He wanted me to drive the ball or just find an easy basket, so that’s what I did. [The left-handed game-winner] has actually been my shot for awhile now. I’ve been working on it. It’s kind of my signature shot.”

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Big West Conference

UC Irvine 56, Long Beach State 55

UCI – Davis 22, Ryan 7, Souza 7, Nelson 7, Wright 0, Martin 9, Dimakopoulos 2, Best 2.

3-pt. goals – Nelson 2, Souza 1, Martin 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

LBSU – Samuels 15, McKnight 4, Lamb 14, LaSalle 9, Caffey 8, Hammonds 3, Yussuf 1, Jones 1.

3-pt. goals – LaSalle 3, Lamb 3.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

Halftime – 34-27, UCI.

barry.faulkner@latimes.com

Twitter: @BarryFaulkner5

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