by MANHATTAN, Kan. — UC Irvine entered Bramlage Coliseum with a tough task taking on Kansas State, and the Wildcats defended their home court with a 71-49 win Friday night.
UCI (2-2) had an uphill road from the start spotting Kansas State (3-0) the first 10 points of the game, and the Wildcats pushed the lead to 18-4 eight minutes in.
UC Irvine turned it around using its trademark defense, and cut the deficit down to 20-15 in the matter of six minutes. K-State regained its rhythm pushing the lead back beyond double digits as the half would close with the ‘Eaters staring at a 13-point deficit.
The teams put forth their defensive foot to start the second half with points hard to come by, and the Anteaters attacked. After the team missed all eight from beyond the arc in the first half, Justin Wertner broke through with two quick triples to bring the margin back under 10 points at the first media timeout of the half, 39-30.
KSU would answer that with a 14-2 run pushing the lead over 20 points and they never looked back riding out the final minutes toward the 71-49 victory for K-State.
The ‘Eaters’ best performance came off the bench as Brad Greene(Shoshone/Paiute) led UCI with nine points while hauling in four rebounds and a block in 20 productive minutes. Ten different Anteaters came away with points including a spirited effort from John Edgar Jr. who paired his seven points with seven rebounds. Jonathan Galloway wrapped up nine boards and blocked three shots and the Anteater defensive effort was solid winning the rebound battle, 39-37.
K-State was helped along by making its shots hitting 39% from the floor including nine threes. Kamau Stokes led all players with 14 points, and he along with two other Wildcats had multiple steals as KSU forced UCI’s hand at times with eight steals as part of 17 turnovers given up by the ‘Eaters.
“Our program has had success because we have had character guys,” said Head Coach Russell Turner about his team’s performance. “They fight hard, have a lot of pride and are very committed. That showed tonight when we played. We did not play very well but we fought hard. We have got a great chance to continue a good fight. We are a young team but we are also a team that needs to perform. What we hope is to make the NCAA tournament. We face a team like K-State and we are better prepared being in an environment like we were tonight.”
The Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational rolls on with another off-site matchup Sunday, Nov. 19 at 11:00 a.m. with the Anteaters and Sun Devils coming together in Tempe, Arz. The game will be shown on the Pac-12 Network and broadcasted on AM830 for fans back in Irvine.
