| 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UCR | 28 | 33 | 61 |
| UCI | 41 | 37 | 78 |
UC Irvine defeats UC Riverside, gains Big West title game
LAS VEGAS -- — Dawson Baker and Collin Welp each scored 17 points, DJ Davis scored 14 and UC Irvine fended off UC Riverside 78-61 in the semifinals of the Big West Conference Tournament on Friday night.
The second-seeded Anteaters (18-8) will take on top-seeded UC Santa Barbara in Saturday's championship game.
Welp was just 3-of-14 from the field but added 11 of 13 from the free-throw line. UC Irvine was 26 of 30 at the line — 16 of 19 after halftime. Nearly half of Irvine's second-half points came from the line.
A Davis jumper put the Anteaters up 62-46 with 8:41 remaining — matching their largest lead of the game at 16 points.
Riverside (14-8), holding its highest-ever seed into the tourney at three, rallied with an 12-5 run over the next five minutes and cut the lead down to nine. But Baker and Isaiah Lee scored back-to-back, pushing Irvine's advantage back to 14 and the Anteaters closed it out with free throws.
Arinze Chidom scored16 points with four 3-pointers for Riverside and Jock Perry also scored 16.
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Game Information
- Referees:
- Mike Scyphers
- Daryl Gelinas
- Glen Mayberry
2024-25 Big West Conference Standings
| Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| UC Irvine | 9-1 | - | 19-3 |
| UC San Diego | 8-2 | 1 | 18-4 |
| UC Riverside | 7-3 | 2 | 14-8 |
| Cal State Northridge | 6-4 | 3 | 14-7 |
| UC Davis | 6-4 | 3 | 12-9 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 5-5 | 4 | 13-8 |
| Hawai'i | 4-6 | 5 | 12-9 |
| Cal State Bakersfield | 4-6 | 5 | 10-12 |
| Long Beach State | 3-7 | 6 | 7-15 |
| Cal Poly | 2-8 | 7 | 8-14 |
| Cal State Fullerton | 1-9 | 8 | 6-16 |
Men's College Basketball News