7-6, 3-0BWC
UC Irvine
7-9, 1-2BWC
Second-Half Rally Lifts Cal Poly Over UC Irvine, 72-67
1/5/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
POSTGAME REACTION: JOE CALLERO | CHRIS O'BRIEN | CHRIS EVERSLEY
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Junior forward Chris Eversley scored 24 points and made two free throws with 14.8 seconds remaining to clinch Cal Poly's 72-67 victory over UC Irvine in a Big West Conference men's basketball game Saturday night before 2,125 in Mott Gym.
Senior guard Chris O'Brien (right) added a career-high 16 points and four assists as Coach Joe Callero's Mustangs, 7-6 overall, are off to their second 3-0 start in Big West Conference history (17 seasons). The first was in the 1996-97 campaign, Cal Poly's first in the Big West.
UC Irvine (7-9, 1-2 Big West) was led by senior forward Adam Folker with 16 points, sinking seven of 10 floor shots. Freshman guard Alex Young added 14 points and junior guard Chris McNealy came off the bench to contribute 11 points.
After UC Irvine built an early 5-2 lead, Cal Poly went on a 16-2 run for an 18-7 advantage with 12:52 left in the first half. Eversley scored three baskets and two free throws during the streak.
A three-pointer by junior guard Jamal Johnson with 43 seconds to play prior to intermission re-established the Mustangs' 11-point bulge at 36-25 at the break.
UC Irvine opened the second half with a 20-4 run, sinking seven of its first eight floor shots, to turn the 11-point halftime deficit into a 45-40 lead with 13:29 to play in the game. Senior guard Daman Starling stole the ball and fed Folker for a layup to cap the streak.
The visiting Anteaters led by as many as six points on two occasions and held a 56-51 cushion with 7:34 to play. Over the final seven minutes, the lead changed hands five times and the game was tied four times.
A layup and free throw by O'Brien with 1:14 to go gave Cal Poly the lead for good at 68-65 and, after Folker made a layup with one minute to play, the Mustangs scored the final four points of the game on two free throws each by Eversley with 14.8 seconds to go and Johnson with 4.1 seconds left.
Cal Poly made 49 percent of its floor shots (22 of 45), including seven of 15 from three-point range, while UC Irvine connected on 54 percent (six of 16 three-pointers). The Anteaters hit 65 percent of their floor shots through the first 33 minutes before missing eight of their final 12 field goal attempts.
Eversley, who missed his career high in scoring by one -- he had 25 at Saint Mary's on Dec. 1 -- now has five games of 20 or more points this season. He made seven of 11 floor shots and 10 of 12 free throws. The Mustangs did not have a player score 20 or more points a year ago.
Johnson contributed four assists and a career-high four steals to go along with nine points. Senior guard Dylan Royer also had nine points for the Mustangs, hitting his only three shots of the game, all three-pointers, and freshman center Brian Bennett added eight.
Cal Poly outrebounded UC Irvine 26-23, led by Eversley with six and Johnson and freshman guard Reese Morgan with five each.
Averaging just 9.3 turnovers in its first 11 games this season, third in NCAA Division I, Cal Poly committed 11 turnovers Saturday, three fewer than the Anteaters. The Mustangs scored 23 points off UC Irvine's miscues and their bench players outscored the Anteaters' bench 22-20.
The Mustangs and Hawai'i remain the only two unbeaten teams in the Big West. Hawai'i defeated UC Riverside 76-61 late Saturday night in Honolulu.
Cal Poly, which has won three straight games for the first time this season and has won its last seven Big West home contests dating to last year, returns to action Thursday night at UC Davis. The Mustangs also play at Pacific on Saturday afternoon.
Photo by Ray Ambler
