Men’s Basketball: ‘Eaters stifle Panthers
There are new baskets at UC Irvine’s Bren Events Center this season and the Anteaters’ men’s basketball team has already become very protective.
UCI held visiting Chapman to 24% shooting from the field (12 for 50) to cruise to an 87-36 season-opening triumph in front of 2,854 on Friday.
Sophomore Luke Nelson hit his first three three-point attempts and was four for five from threedom and seven for nine from the field on his way to a game-high 18 points for the winners, for whom the game will count on their record.
John Ryan, a 6-foot-10 senior, had 14 points in 17 minutes off the bench and his four blocks helped personify the kind of difficulty the taller, quicker, more athletic hosts posed for the Division III Panthers.
Chapman, for which the game is considered an exhibition and will not count against its record, went separate stretches of 7:53 and 6:23 without a field goal in the first half. And, after senior John Joyce, a Corona del Mar High product, scored in the opening seconds of the second half, Chapman went another 5:33 during which only a single free throw dropped through the net.
Chapman, coached by former UCI assistant Mike Bokosky, whose staff includes former Costa Mesa High standout and head coach Dan Krikorian, did not make its third basket of the second half until there was 9:38 left.
UCI, which ranked No. 3 in the nation last season in field-goal-percentage defense (37.4%), blocked 11 shots and made 10 steals as the Panthers finished with 19 turnovers.
“Our defense was pretty good,” UCI Coach Russell Turner said. “We have talent, length and depth and I thought it just wore [the Panthers] down. I was pleased with the way we continued to compete, even with a big lead. That’s something I asked our guys to do and that made for a tough day for Chapman. I have a lot of respect for those guys, but it was hard to score against us tonight.”
The ‘Eaters shot 63% in the first 20 minutes, then made 18 of 25 after the break (72%) to finish 35 for 52 from the field (67.3%), with only eight turnovers.
“Offensively, I thought we played well,” Turner said. “We handled the ball well and didn’t turn it over.”
Turner singled out Ryan, who missed only one of seven field-goal tries, added three rebounds and two assists, and twice dived to collect loose balls to the delight of the UCI bench.
“John Ryan was terrific,” Turner said. “I have to give special credit to him. Both offensively and defensively, he just did what he is supposed to do, over and over again.”
Senior Will Davis had six points, six rebounds and five assists in just 19 minutes and Mamadou Ndiaye, a 7-6 sophomore who sat out UCI’s 128-92 exhibition win over Simon Fraser on Saturday, had nine points, two rebounds and one block in just nine minutes.
Junior Mike Best had seven points, four rebounds and three blocks in 18 minutes and 11 of the 13 who played for the winners scored.
Junior Aaron Wright had four points, four rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal to help UCI prepare for its first test of the campaign, a 1 p.m. home game against former Big West Conference rival Pacific on Sunday.
The 6-8 Joyce had seven points and two rebounds before fouling out in just 19 minutes.
Turner said he plans to redshirt freshmen Jonathan Galloway and Spencer Rivers, while junior Dominique Dunning sat out with a strained thigh.
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Nonconference
UC Irvine 87, Chapman 36
Chap – Ju. Young 2, Joyce 7, Zavrsnick 10, James 3, Hamasaki 2, Henke 4, Watson 2, Dragovich 2, Jo. Young 2, Nelson 2.
3-pt. goals – Zavrsnick 2, James 1.
Fouled out – Joyce.
Technicals – None.
UCI – Davis 6, Ndiaye 9, Nelson 18, Young 8, Souza 3, Ryan 14, Best 7, Martin 7, Saprykinas 7, Wright, 4, Dimakopoulos 4.
3-pt. goals – Nelson 4, Saprykinas 2, Souza 1, Martin 1.
Fouled out – Dimakopoulos.
Technicals – None.
Halftime – 40-16, UCI.