Anteaters make history

ANAHEIM — March is no longer Lack of History Month for the UC Irvine men’s basketball program.

The Anteaters made history Saturday with a come-from-behind 67-58 victory over Hawaii in the championship game of the Big West Conference Tournament at Honda Center.

The triumph, UCI’s first in five conference tournament final appearances, propels Coach Russell Turner’s ‘Eaters (21-12) into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the program’s 50 seasons.

“It’s a dream come true,” said UCI sophomore guard Luke Nelson, who led the winners with 17 points. “This is what we wanted. This is what we got.”

UCI will learn of its pairing on Sunday, but no assignment, at this point, will be a disappointment.

The No. 3-seeded ‘Eaters overcame a disappointing start and a modest first half to turn away the red-hot, No. 5-seeded Rainbow Warriors (22-13), who upset top-seeded UC Davis Friday night.

“We did it,” Turner yelled into the ear of one of his players during a postgame embrace. “I’m so proud of you guys.”

Nelson, an all-tournament selection, and senior tournament MVP Will Davis led a second-half surge that electrified an overwhelming majority of UCI fans in the stands, hundreds of which stormed the court in an emotional release of decades of frustration. Some UCI rooters used their phones to capture footage of their small children enjoying the celebration.

Davis notched his third double-double of the tournament with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Davis added the emphatic exclamation point with a windmill dunk that capped the scoring with 6.6 seconds left.

Perhaps future legions will claim they were there to see UCI depart from the mainland of mediocrity and join the rest of the programs on campus as those who have competed in their own national championship events.

UCI scored the first four points of the second half to pull even, 33-33, and the teams traded baskets over the next seven minutes until Ioannis Dimakopoulos gave the Anteaters their first lead with a six-foot jump hook to make it 41-39, with 11:02 left.

A layup by Mamadou Ndiaye gave UCI a 43-40 lead, but the ‘Bows surged back to take a 45-43 advantage with 8:26 left.

An 8-0 UCI run that included four points by Nelson gave the designated home team a 52-47 edge with 4:09 left.

But a three-pointer by Hawaii sophomore Aaron Valdes cut the deficit to two.

Aaron Wright sank a nine-foot runner in the lane and Young drilled a pair of free throws with 2:07 left to put UCI up, 56-50.

After a Hawaii bucket, Nelson connected on a catch-and-shoot three-pointer from the top of the circle with an assist from Alex Young to make it a 59-52 cushion.

Garrett Nevels sank a three-pointer from the top of the key with 1:05 left, but Nelson, who led the winners with 14 points, made two free throws with 42 seconds left.

Roderick Bobbitt converted a three-point play to cut the deficit to three, but Wright nailed a pair of foul shots with 42 ticks remaining to forge a 63-58 advantage.

The ‘Eaters then scored the final four points of the contest and Ndiaye, a 7-foot-6 sophomore, blocked the final Hawaii shot.

Young finished with 10 points, four rebounds and four assists for UCI,

Hawaii, which seized leads of 11-4 and 20-8, led the entire first half, though the Anteaters heated up from three-point range to close to within 31-29, before the Rainbow Warriors claimed a 33-29 halftime advantage.

Hawaii made seven of its first 10 field-goal tries and was eight for 12 at one point and was netted six of its first 10 three-point attempts in the first 11-plus minutes.

Davis, who had 35 points and 25 rebounds in the first two Big West tournament wins, had two points and four rebounds at halftime. Davis, who led the conference in field-goal shooting and was 15 for 21 from the field in the first two games at Honda Center, was one for four from the field before intermission. He finished five for nine from the field.

Ndiaye who had 18 points in the semifinal win against UC Santa Barbara, had five points and two rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Ndiaye, who was two for three from the field and one for three from the foul line, was obviously rattled at times by the swarming, swatting Hawaii defenders, who made operating inside difficult for any Anteater.

Hawaii made just five of its final 19 first-half field-goal tries and finished six for 13 from threedom, while posting a 20-18 rebounding advantage in the first half.

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Big West Conference Tournament

Final

UC Irvine 67, Hawaii 58

UH – Jankovic 6, Valdes 17, Nevels 14, Bobbitt 6, Webster-Chan 3, Fleming 8, Thomas 3, Jovanovic 1.

3-pt. goals – Valdes 3, Fleming 2, Nevels 2, Webster-Chan 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

UCI – Davis 10, Ndiaye 8, Nelson 17, Young 10, Souza 5, Dimakopoulos 7, Wright 5, Martin 3, Best 2.

3-pt. goals – Souza 1, Young 1, Nelson 1, Martin 1, Dimakopoulos 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

Halftime – 33-29, UH.