UCI goes overtime and tops UC Davis 71-69 in Big West Conference opener; Tustin’s TJ Shorts II leads Aggies with 21 points

UCI guard Robert Cartwright is guarded by TJ Shorts II from Tustin during Thursday’s game. Cartwright had eight assists for the Anteaters.

UC Irvine’s men’s basketball team is the favorite to win the Big West Conference regular season title.

If Thursday’s Big West Conference opener is any indication, the Anteaters have what it takes to win the crown, but it may not be an easy road.

UC Davis (4-11 overall) rallied from a seven-point deficit with 1:28 remaining to force overtime but the Anteaters were up to the challenge and held on for a 71-69 victory in front of 1,680 fans at the Bren Events Center.

UCI (13-4) led by as many as 16 points about five minutes into the second half.

“I think we need to continue to improve,” said UCI Coach Russell Turner. “I think there have been some games where it’s been hard for us to maintain in the second half the focus that we bring to the defensive end in the first half. That’s natural, but if you want to be as good as we can be, we will stay committed to improving at that.”

In the overtime, Robert Cartwright gave UCI a 71-69 lead when he made one of two free throws with 16 seconds left. However Cartwright missed two free throws with 14 seconds remaining and UC Davis rebounded.

Former Tustin High standout TJ Shorts II then had a shot to win it, but his 3-point attempt went off the rim. Shorts, the conference player of the year last year, led the comeback with his inspiring play and finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds. But he struggled at the free throw line, making 3 of 8.

Joe Mooney added 14 points for UC Davis.

UCI was led by junior guards Evan Leonard, who scored 22 points and Max Hazzard, who had 15 points.

“It’s always good to start off with a win, especially against a team who beat us three times in a row,” Leonard said. “We just got to enjoy this tonight. It’s one win and we’ve got 15 more (games) and we get back to work tomorrow.”

Turner indicated he expected a battle from UC Davis.

“I’m not surprised for us that the game went the way that it did,” Turner said. “Had they beaten us, I would not have been surprised. We know we have to perform to win this type of game in this league. Everybody in this league, I think, can beat everybody else. Knowing that, it means you know you got to perform in order to come out on top and we made one more play than they did.”

UCI could face its toughest tests from UC Santa Barbara (12-3) and Hawaii (10-5), the only other teams in the conference with winning records.

“The Big West Championship often comes down to the team that can best sustain a high level of performance over 16 games so that’s what we talk about,” Turner said. “This would have been a big game to lose had we dropped it at home in the opener, but this game didn’t win us the championship and it wouldn’t have lost us the championship.

“It’s decided over 16 games and we have a big challenge now to turn around and play Fullerton over there on Saturday (6 p.m.) which is another team we fully respect and like Davis, has had an incredibly tough schedule that contributes to the record (4-11) they are carrying.

“We know Fullerton is a good team just like we knew Davis is a good team.”

UCI made 23 of 58 field goal attempts (39.7 percent) and 21 of 34 free throw attempts (61.8 percent). However, the Anteaters outrebounded the Aggies 46-38.

Jonathan Galloway had 10 rebounds for UCI and Tommy Rutherford added 11 points before fouling out. The game, which included numerous instant replay reviews, took more than two and a half hours to complete.

TUSTIN’S TJ SHORTS PLAYS BEFORE FRIENDS AND FAMILY

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com