Men’s Basketball: UCI’s historic run ends

Luke Nelson took his history final Thursday morning. About five hours later, the UC Irvine sophomore guard’s attempt to delay finality to a historic men’s basketball season bounded off the rim.

Nelson’s potential go-ahead three-pointer from about 26 feet out on the left wing hit the back right portion of the rim and caromed into the left corner. Louisville’s Quentin Snider collected it and was pushed out of bounds by a charging Will Davis, who was whistled for a foul with 8.9 seconds left.

Snider, who like No. 13-seeded UCI was making his first NCAA Tournament appearance, sank both ends of the one-and-one free-throw situation.

UCI (21-13) turned the ball over on its final possession as the No. 4-seeded Cardinals (25-8) escaped with a 57-55 win in the East Regional second-round game in front of 14,509 at KeyArena in Seattle, Wash.

“It’s hard to lose,” UCI Coach Russell Turner told reporters. “And it’s hard to face guys who have given everything they have got and come up short. But aside from winning that game, that’s about as good an outcome as you could have. To lay it all on the line and be a basket short, that’s basketball.”

Nelson’s runner from the right block with 59 seconds left had put UCI ahead, 55-53.

But Wayne Blackshear made a twisting layup with 42 seconds left that knotted the score for the sixth time. There were nine lead changes.

After Snider, a freshman making only his seventh start of the season, capped his career-high scoring performance with 16, the No. 4-seeded Cardinals fouled with 5.7 seconds left.

Louisville had another foul to give, without putting UCI in the bonus and Cardinals’ senior Terry Rozier bumped shoulders with UCI junior guard Alex Young while going for the ball near midcourt after the ensuing inbounds play. Young, knocked off balance, dived to his left to pounce on the loose ball, as no foul was called. Young, on his back near midcourt, attempted to pass to teammate Jaron Martin, but the ball went off Martin’s foot, into the hands of Blackshear, who dribbled toward the Louisville basket until time expired.

“They had a foul to give that they clearly tried to give, and the foul wasn’t called,” Turner said of the last sequence. “That’s an unusual situation to be in with nine seconds and a team with two fouls remaining to give. And I thought [Rozier] gave that foul.”

The loss halted a historic run for the Big West Conference Tournament champions, for whom Davis, a senior first-team all-conference performer, and 7-foot-6 sophomore Mamadou Ndiaye led to the brink of a monumental upset.

The ‘Eaters, who began an injury-plagued season 7-8 in the program’s 50th campaign, seized leads of 6-2, 8-4 and 21-16. But Louisville, in its 41st Big Dance, produced an 11-0 run that helped it take a 30-28 halftime advantage.

A three-pointer by senior Travis Souza put UCI up, 33-32, with 18:32 left, but the Cardinals surged back ahead, until Nelson gave UCI its next lead (51-50) on a 15-foot jumper with 3:59 remaining.

Ndiaye was six for nine from the field and made four straight UCI field goals during a span of just more than six minutes that left the ‘Eaters down, 48-47, with 5:18 left. He had five rebounds, one block, one steal and three thundering dunks.

“We just had a tough time with the 7-9 guy, whatever he is,” Hall of Fame Louisville Coach Rick Pitino told reporters of Ndiaye, the nation’s tallest player who can touch the rim reaching on his tip-toes. “It looked like we were midgets. [Blackshear, a 6-5 senior] shook [Ndiaye’s] hand and came up to his navel.”

Davis, whose team-best nine rebounds gave him 852 (No. 2 all-time at UCI), had 14 points to finish with 1,384 (No. 8 in school annals). He made a 12-footer with 4:47 left that pulled UCI within 50-49, and his put-back with 2:01 remaining knotted the score at 53-53.

Nelson finished with 10 points, five rebounds, three assists, one steal and a team-worst four turnovers. He was four for seven from the field, including two for four from three-point range.

UCI made four of nine first-half attempts from threedom, but were just one for five in the final 20 minutes. Junior Aaron Wright, who made UCI’s only two free throws and connected on a first-half three-pointer, had his three-point try from the right corner rim out with 2:37 left.

Young led UCI with five assists and added six points, while Souza also had six points.

Wright’s five points helped UCI post a 7-2 advantage in bench scoring.

Blackshear’s 19 points and seven rebounds led the winners, who meet Northern Iowa in Sunday’s third round.

“We had some fouls to give,” Pitino said of the final defensive possession. “We wanted to give them, but we wanted to go for the ball to make sure something like that [final turnover] would happen. [Rozier] made a great play.

“[The Anteaters] played awesome. They deserve so much credit,” Pitino said. “We survive and move on and that’s what it was — survive.”

Turner also praised his team.

“It’s tough to lose, but there’s an incredible positive feeling in that locker room because of the growth in our program and each of these young men,” Turner said. “While I’m sorry for a guy like Will, who is a senior, that we didn’t win this game, it’s hard not to look around that locker room and feel incredible pride. I’m incredibly proud of all the kids and our staff and our fans for a good performance.

“I thought in many ways in this game we were their equal. Hard to say we were better than they were because of the way the game ended up, but we were a play away from winning that game.

“I thanked these seniors for the impact they made on our program. It’s hard to exaggerate what that is. I told them that they’re the greatest class in our program’s history because of what they accomplished through winning. And I don’t think that can even be denied at all. I hope that our ability to perform and play and compete in this game today will allow us as a program to move on to greater success; be an experience we can draw on to win this game or a game like it.

“I thought Mamadou was terrific, like he usually is. [The Cardinals] made some incredible plays over him. Blackshear’s three-point play [a layup while being fouled by Ndiaye with 3:33 left that put Louisville up, 53-51]. I mean, that’s a kid who played in a national championship game [in 2013, one of Louisville’s three NCAA crowns]. He’s a national champion. He made a national champion play right there, and that’s probably the difference in the game.”

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NCAA Tournament

Second round

Louisville 57, UC Irvine 55

UCI – Davis 14, Ndiaye 12, Nelson 10, Young 6, Souza 6, Wright 5, Best 2.

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

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

UL – Blackshear 19, Harrell 8, Manthiang 0, Snider 16, Rozier 12, Johnson 2.

3-pt. goals – Snider 2, Blackshear 2, Rozier 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

Halftime – 30-28, UL.