In the most anticipated Big West game of the season, UC Irvine (15-2, 5-0 Big West) came out on top against UC San Diego (14-3, 4-1 Big West) in a grueling defensive battle. The Tritons shot an abysmal 6-for-35 from beyond the arc and were unable to find other ways to put the ball in the basket.
The Tritons entered this game in their best form ever, with no losses since Nov. 16. Their 12 straight wins was the longest active streak in the nation and had attracted significant attention; prior to the game, they were ranked a program-high No. 43 in the NET ranking and received votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll for the first time. Even with all the added noise, junior guard Chris Howell did not think the team felt additional pressure going into the game.
“Obviously, it’s in the back of your head for sure,” Howell said to The UCSD Guardian in a post-game interview. “It’s a big game; it’s a rivalry game. But in the locker room, there was a sense of peace all throughout the week, especially yesterday and today preparing for the game. We know who we are, we know the players we have, we know the staff that we have. We have max confidence in ourselves and one another, so it was just another game for us.”
The excitement on campus could be felt all week. When gameday finally rolled around, the fans did not disappoint. Students began lining up over three hours before tipoff to secure seats. Once the game began, the student section maintained its energy all night, even through stretches when the Tritons struggled to score.
“The whole environment was pretty surreal,” Howell said.
It was Howell who gave the home crowd something to cheer about, scoring 8 points in the first few minutes of the game as the Anteaters left him wide open. Howell finished with 11 points, tying his career high. Following the game, UCSD head coach Eric Olen was full of praise for the guard.
“Chris is a huge part of what we’re doing,” Olen raved. “Tonight’s not unique –– it’s not his only good performance. He makes winning plays every single night. Chris is a terrific player who does all kinds of things that contribute to winning that don’t even show up in the box score.”
While Howell was able to get going, senior guard Tyler McGhie — the country’s leader in 3-pointers made going into the game — struggled all night to find good looks. He shot only three field goals, his lowest since joining the Tritons, and finished with 4 points.
“They did a good job of limiting him,” Olen said. “I think that’s on me for sure. I have to do a better job of making sure he gets a little more involved and gets more looks. He’s obviously a talented offensive player; we got to have him more involved.”
The other Tritons on the court struggled offensively as well, shooting a season low 17% from 3-point range. While a lot of their misses could be attributed to UCI’s ferocious defense, the Tritons were also unable to hit their open looks.
“I think it’s a big opportunity just to move forward,” Howell said. “Obviously, it’s not the shooting performance we would’ve liked and expected, but we had great looks — just comes down to knocking them down next time.”
Despite the Tritons’ dismal offensive performance, there were some positive moments. Sophomore guard Aidan Burke was able to drill a triple to end the first half, bringing the Tritons to within two at the break. However, UCSD’s bright spot in Saturday’s game was its defense. They held Irvine to 38% shooting from the field, something that Olen felt gave them a fighting chance.
“The defensive side was there, and it really gave us a chance,” he said. “It kept us in the game for the stretches where we weren’t playing well, still hanging around, still within striking distance, and unfortunately we just didn’t quite make enough plays down the stretch to come out on top.”
While it can be nice to watch your opponents miss, you have to go out and score at some point, and UCSD was unable to muster up anything in that department. The Tritons scored only 6 points in the final 10 minutes of play en route to a disappointing loss.
The Tritons now sit at 4-1 in conference play, a game behind the Anteaters in the Big West standings. They hope to return to the win column this week, heading up Interstate 405 to play Long Beach State on Thursday, Jan. 16.
