The UCI Men’s Basketball team (14-7, 7-2) defeated the California State University Matadors (4-18, 1-10) in an overwhelming 81-56 victory at the Bren Events Center on Saturday, Jan. 28.
Redshirt sophomore forward Devin Tillis delivered a standout performance during the match. He helped widen the offensive gap between the two squads by scoring 18 points, shooting 7-8 from the paint, four three-pointers and two rebounds, and added a steal to his name.
The first half of the game started strong for the Anteaters, taking the score to 7-2 with a three-pointer and two layups. On the other hand, the Matador offense had a sluggish beginning, enduring a rocky start with two turnover balls.
The score gap between the two teams continued to inflate as the ‘Eater offense secured consistent layups and jumpshots to balloon the score to 12-4. UCI was able to make a few impressive assist plays, with redshirt junior guard Justin Hohn laying the ball up for junior guard DJ Davis to tip it in and make the game 16-7 at just under 15 minutes.
The Anteaters scored five more uncontested points from a Tillis three-pointer jumpshot and a Hohn layup, extending the lead to 21-7. The Matadors fought back, going 7-2 against the Anteaters with lead scorer sophomore guard Atin Wright doing much of the offensive heavy lifting, scoring 19 points, the game’s record high, to creep up behind the ‘Eaters at 23-14.
Immediately after their short run, UCI junior guard Dawson Baker went three-for-three at the free-point line, then made another three-pointer jump shot to extend the lead to 29-17. CSUN went on another 7-2 run before ending the first half trailing the Anteaters, 31-24.
UCI began the second half of the game with a Davis three-pointer and a Tillis layup to widen the gap to 36-24. The ‘Eaters then began a 10-2 run of their own, going mostly uncontested by the Matadors to push the lead to 46-26 at the 15:32 minute mark.
While the Matadors were battered offensively for the remainder of the second half, they were able to make a few great defensive plays. Sophomore forward Fidelis Okereke made an impressive defensive block in the paint for CSUN, smacking the ball back into his team’s hands. However, no one followed through and his team turned over the ball, granting UCI more opportunities to score near the 12-minute mark.
Despite some great plays by CSUN, the Anteaters were out-scoring their opponents by an outstanding margin of 75-41 by the 3:35 minute mark, the largest gap of the night.
With less than four minutes left, the Matadors scored 11 points to somewhat lessen the severity of the lead with a few three-pointers and scoring four-for-four on free-pointers. Regardless of their efforts, UCI ended the match with an impressive 81-56 lead.
The UCI Men’s Basketball team will go on to face the UC San Diego Tritons at the UCSD Triton Arena on Thursday, Feb. 2.
Phillip Lemus is a Sports Staff Writer for the winter 2023 quarter. They can be reached at plemus1@uci.edu