NORTHRIDGE — The UC Irvine and Cal State Northridge men’s basketball teams battled for every second of their first-place showdown, including the last one.
UCI guard Derin Saran slipped through the paint and banked in a layup as time expired to give the Anteaters a 68-67 victory over CSUN on Thursday night at the Matadome in a matchup of teams that started the night as part of a three-way tie atop the Big West standings.
Northridge scored four points in a row to take a 67-64 lead with 55 seconds remaining, but UCI’s Jurian Dixon hit a pull-up jumper from the free-throw line to make it a one-point game with 38 seconds left. Following a CSUN timeout, UCI’s Tama Isaac stole the ball, dished to Dixon, then got it back but missed a driving layup, with the ball bouncing off of several hands before going out of bounds off the Matadors, giving the Anteaters one final possession.
With 1.3 seconds remaining, Isaac inbounded the ball from the baseline, finding Saran, who circled across the paint and through the defense right under the basket to bank it off the glass, with the ball rolling around the rim before dropping in as time expired.
“I’m excited to win. I’m proud of my guys. When you come out on top of games like that, it feels pretty doggone good,” UCI coach Russell Turner said. “There’s a lot of balance in the league this year. We’ve been on the other end of two of those games that were decided on the last possession against Northern Iowa and Hawaii, and hopefully now they’re coming back to us.”
Dixon finished with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting, four assists and two steals to lead UCI (19-10 overall, 12-5 Big West), which remains tied with Hawaii (20-7, 12-5) for first place. from the floor, including two 3-pointers.
Saran, who had 13 points, five rebounds and four steals, said he felt like he had been in a slump of late.
“I’m feeling great. I’m just fortunate it rolled in,” Saran said of his game-winning shot. “I’ve been in kind of a slump. I haven’t been playing to my best capability, but I’m trying to flip the switch and do my best to help this team reach March Madness.”
Harrison Carrington added 11 points, five rebounds and three steals for UCI, while Andre Henry had 11 points and four assists. Jovan Jester Jr. contributed nine points, a team-high seven assists, five rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots. Kyle Evans was held to four points, but he did grab a team-best six rebounds to go with four blocks – giving him a nation-leading 100 for the season.
Joshua O’Garro had 17 points, 10 rebounds and three steals to lead CSUN (18-11, 11-6), which saw its seven-game winning streak end and sits a half-game ahead of UC Santa Barbara for third place with three games left in the regular season. Josiah Davis added 15 points and six assists, and Larry Hughes II had 12 points and three steals.
“Honestly, our guys battled hard. One mistake cost us the game,” CSUN coach Andy Newman said. “Well-fought game, proud of our guys. They made one more play than we did.”
UCI limited one of the league’s top scoring offenses to just 28.6% shooting (8 for 28) in the first half and had a 36-24 lead at halftime, but the Matadors came to life after the intermission.
CSUN, which shot 51.5% (17 for 33) over the final 20 minutes, cut its 12-point deficit to two just 4:20 into the second half. The Matadors eventually used a 9-0 run to take a one-point lead before UCI reclaimed the lead at 55-53 on a Saran 3-pointer with 7:30 left.
The game remained tight from there, with the Anteaters holding a 62-61 lead at the game’s final media timeout with 3:13 remaining. Two Isaac free throws had UCI on top with 1:40 to play, but Northridge got a circus shot layup from Davis and two free throws from Hughes for a 67-64 lead with 55 seconds left, setting the stage for Dixon and Saran to rescue the Anteaters.
“Our defensive level in the first half was outstanding. I thought we really set the tone for the game then,” Turner said. “Give Northridge credit, they made a run. We stayed together. It’s not easy to do on the road when it’s going against you, but that’s what we did. And we made one more play than they did.”
The top two seeds in the Big West Tournament receive coveted double-byes into the semifinals of the eight-team event next month in Henderson, Nevada. The Anteaters play their final three regular-season games at home, though the slate – UCSB, Cal Poly and UC Davis – presents plenty of challenges.
“The next three teams we play all beat us the first time around, and we want to win the championship, so we’re going to do whatever we can to beat those teams,” Saran said.
UP NEXT
UC Santa Barbara at UC Irvine, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
CSUN at UC Riverside, Saturday, 5 p.m.
BIG WEST STANDINGS
Through Thursday, Feb. 26
Team – Overall, Big West
Hawaii – 20-7, 12-5
UC Irvine – 19-10, 12-5
Cal State Northridge – 18-11, 11-6
UC Santa Barbara – 18-11, 11-7
UC San Diego – 20-9, 10-7
Cal State Fullerton – 15-14, 10-7
UC Davis – 17-12, 10-8
Cal Poly (SLO) – 13-16, 9-8
Long Beach State – 8-21, 4-13
UC Riverside – 9-21, 4-14
Cal State Bakersfield – 8-21, 2-15
