UC Irvine hands LB State another loss in overtime
The UC Irvine-Long Beach State basketball rivalry is the best in the Big West Conference, especially on those nights when the game is more slugfest than finesse.
The Anteaters got a great effort from freshman DJ Davis and senior Brad Greene, Davis scoring 18 points with five assists and Greene scoring 11 points and pulling down nine rebounds in a tight 71-68 overtime victory on Friday evening at the Walter Pyramid.
UCI led by three with 22 seconds left in regulation but was forced into overtime when LBSU’s Chance Hunter hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the score, 60-60. Davis scored six of the Anteaters’ first eight points in the overtime for a four-point lead, and the defense created havoc on Long Beach’s last few possessions.
The Anteaters improved to 13-8 overall and 9-4 in Big West play. UC Santa Barbara clinched the regular-season title with a win against Cal Poly on Friday, so UCI is likely to go into next week’s 10-team Big West Tournament in Las Vegas as the No. 2 seed.
Long Beach fell to 5-10 overall and 4-7 in conference play, and
once again took an opponent deep into a game before losing. Six of LBSU’s seven conference losses have been by a combined 15 points — two points three times, three points three times — and three of those games went to overtime.
Collin Welp had 18 points and six rebounds for UC Irvine, which had a 36-2 advantage in bench scoring.
Long Beach’s five starters played 33 to 39 minutes each, led by Isaiah Washington (17 points, seven rebounds, six assists), Hunter (15 points, 13 rebounds), Joe Hampton (12 points, eight rebounds) and Michael Carter (15 points).
“I’m thrilled for a road win because they’re hard to get and I thought it would be this type of game, physical and the kind of game where we’d have to assert ourselves,” UCI coach Russ Turner said.
“DJ was very comfortable all night, it’s a credit to his talent and what he brings to the team. As much as his scoring helps, he creates assists for us at the same time.”