6-14, 1-5
UC Irvine
13-10, 6-1
Cal Poly Men's Basketball Topples Big West Leader UC Irvine, 79-66
1/26/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
IRVINE – Junior guard Victor Joseph (above) scored a game high 22 points to lead four Mustangs in double-digit scoring figures as the Cal Poly men's basketball program earned its first Big West victory of the year by handing UC Irvine its first conference loss with a 79-66 decision Thursday evening inside the Bren Events Center.
Sophomore guard Donovan Fields finished with 15 points for Cal Poly (6-14, 1-5), which – eight days after suffering a 70-48 home loss to UC Irvine – produced a 35-point reversal by shooting 52.6 (30-for-57) percent from the floor and holding the Anteaters (13-10, 6-1) to a 25.0 (5-for-20) percent three-point mark and to just six free throw attempts.
In snapping a 10-game slide, Cal Poly also committed just five turnovers – including only one in the second half.
Thursday's victory was Cal Poly's first against UC Irvine in five attempts and since eliminating the Anteaters from the 2014 Big West Tournament semifinals. The win was also Cal Poly's first at UC Irvine since Jan. 12, 2012.
Senior guard Ridge Shipley added 12 points and junior forward Luke Meikle scored 10 for Cal Poly, which closes its two-game road trip with an ESPN3-broadcasted matchup at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 6 p.m.
Backboned by seven points from Joseph, Cal Poly knocked down eight of its first nine shots from the floor to build a 19-11 lead after six-and-a-half minutes.
UC Irvine needed just 75 seconds to close the gap to a 19-17 deficit. Held scoreless for three minutes, Cal Poly quenched the drought with a Joseph jumper. The Anteaters closed within two points of Cal Poly's lead three more times before a pair of free throws and layup from guard Max Hazzard provided UC Irvine a 30-29 advantage four minutes before the break.
A minute later, however, Fields banked home a three-pointer at the shot clock buzzer before picking off Anteaters guard Eyassu Worku and converting a layup for a 34-30 Mustang lead with Cal Poly eventually taking a 36-35 edge into halftime.
A layup from sophomore forward Aleks Abrams and three-pointer by senior guard Kyle Toth placed Cal Poly up 41-35 to begin the second half, but with senior guard Jaron Martin scoring 12 of UC Irvine's opening 14 points of the second half, the Anteaters forged a 49-45 lead with 13-and-a-half minutes to play.
Facing its largest deficit of the night, however, Cal Poly responded with an 11-0 run that included seven Joseph points to claim a 56-49 lead at the nine-minute mark.
A Shipley three-pointer four minutes later reaffirmed Cal Poly's seven-point advantage. Meikle and Joseph then each knocked down a pair of free throws on the ensuing two possessions to provide the Mustangs their first double-digit lead of the night.
Cal Poly led by as much as 16 points down the stretch.
