UC Irvine beats UCSD for 6th straight win – Orange County Register

SAN DIEGO – The UC Irvine men’s basketball team once again proved they can win when needed, surging 14 points off DJ Davis’s bench and another tenacious defensive effort to take the 56th win. -50 against UC San Diego on Tuesday night at RIMAC Arena.

Davis, a second-year keeper, went 3 to 7 from the floor (2 to 5 from 3 points) and 6 to 6 from the free-throw line, knocking out four crucial fouls in the final two minutes. The Anteaters finished 14 to 16 from the free throw line, converting all eight of their attempts in the final 3:06.

Dawson Baker added 11 points for UCI (12-7 overall), winning his sixth straight game in the final game before the Big West Conference’s crucial game against Hawaii on Saturday. Collin Welp had nine points, four rebounds and four assists, while Austin Johnson added six points, nine rebounds and four saves. Justin Hohn has seven points.

Toni Rocak had 20 points and seven rebounds for the Tritons (11-13), and Francis Nwaokorie added nine rebounds and three blocks. Bryce Pope (13 ppg) only got five points on a 2/12 shot.

Both teams struggled from the pitch, with a UCI of 34% (18 for 53) and UCSD of 18 for 59 (30.5%). The Anteaters, the national leader in 3-point defense, kept UCSD to 6–25 (24%) from behind the arc.

The game was tight throughout and Rocak got the Tritons in round 46-41 as he switched three-pointers with a 3:28 left, but Welp and Davis’ two free throws each extended the line back into nine points with two minutes left.

UCSD got 3 points in a row from Jake Killingsworth and Bryce Pope in 30 seconds to take UCI’s lead down to 50-47 with 1:22 remaining. Baker added a pair of free throws with 1:01 remaining, but Tritons’ Jace Roquemore was fouled behind the arc and shot all three free throws cut the throw to 52-50 with 41.3 seconds remaining.

An offensive foul by UCI sent the ball back to UCSD with 23.7 seconds remaining, but the Tritons missed too long in the 3-point effort and Davis caught up on the ball to hand control to the Anteaters. He converted two more free throws with 14.8 seconds left to push back four points.

A final 3-point effort by UCSD bounced off the belt and was recovered by Davis, who sent the ball onto the field for JC Butler in a scuffle with three seconds remaining to limit the score.