by EL PASO, Texas – UC Irvine led from the start and did not let up winning a 74-68 decision over Kent State Monday at the Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational.
UCI (7-5) will play the winner of UTEP/ NC A&T in the Championship Game tomorrow at 6 p.m. PT. Kent State (8-2) will play in the consolation game.
The Anteaters shot 45.9 percent (28-61) from the field overall and held the Golden Flashes to 42.3 percent (22-52) from the floor.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Collin Welp finished with a game-high 18 points on 6-12 shooting from the floor. The forward also grabbed a team-best seven boards
> Brad Greene (Shoshone/Paiute) and Evan Leonard also finished in double-digit scoring with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Greene’s 16 points were a career-high
> Eyassu Worku dished out six assists while John Edgar Jr. swiped two steals
> The ‘Eaters forced 19 Kent State turnovers, scoring 23 points off those mishaps
> UCI out-rebounded the Flashes 35-32 and held advantages in paint points (36-20), second chance points (14-5) and bench points (32-25)
> Kent State was led by Danny Pippen with 15 points. The Flashes hit 11 three-pointers (11-27) while UCI went 4-14 (.286) from long range
First Half
> The Anteaters came out energized and took a 12-2 lead at the first media timeout (15:57). Greene and Rutherford each had four points in the stretch
> The Flashes closed the gap, 24-20, with 7:14 remaining in the first half
> Isaiah Lee made back-to-back three-pointers in a 12-2 run to give the ‘Eaters a 34-22 lead with just over three minutes left in the half
> John Edgar Jr. dished a pass inside to Greene who made a jumper with two seconds on the clock to send the ‘Eaters into the locker rooms with a 40-29 lead
> Greene finished with 12 points in the half
Second Half
> A Welp layup put the ‘Eaters up by 17, 50-33, with 15:48 remaining
> UCI went on a 6-1 run to stretch the lead to 20, 60-40 (10:51)
> Kent State brought the lead within 10 but the ‘Eaters used a 6-0 run to go up, 66-50, with four minutes to play
> The Anteaters maintained a double-digit lead until the Flashes hit three-straight three’s down the stretch to make it 74-68 at the final buzzer
> Welp had 10 points in the half
NOTES
> The Anteaters will return to the Don Haskins Championship Game for the first time since 2015 when they won the tournament over Norfolk State
