No. 2-seeded UC Irvine advances to Big West semifinals with 58-51 victory over Cal Poly

UCI’s Dawson Baker gets past Colby Rogers of Cal Poly in Thursday’s Big West Conference quarterfinal in Las Vegas. (Photo courtesy Big West Conference)

 UC Irvine’s men’s basketball team is off to the semifinals of the Big West Conference Tournament after defeating No. 10 seed Cal Poly 58-51 Thursday night in the quarterfinals at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.

No. 2 UCI will face No. 4 seeded UC Riverside Friday night at 9 in the semifinals. The game will be televised live by ESPN-U.

UCI (17-9) led by as much as 22 points in the first half Thursday before the Mustangs (4-20) cut the lead to as little as three with 7:23 remaining. The Anteaters came through at the free throw line down the stretch to seal the victory.

Collin Welp led UCI with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Brad Greene had nine points and nine rebounds and added five blocks. Isaiah Lee and Dawson Baker added nine points each for the Anteaters.

Alimamy Koroma led Cal Poly (4-20) with 17 points and seven rebounds

“We are pleased to win a hard fought game,” said UCI Coach Russell Turner. “I give Cal Poly a lot of credit, especially after we took such a large lead in the first half, I thought after that point they took the fight to us and gained confidence and gave us a lot of problems both on offense and on defense. I thought our defense carried us today which is how we have won when we don’t play well offensively. I was pleased with our ability to make stops in big moments down the stretch.”

“Every year I have had a different role on the team and I always try to do the most with my minutes,” added Greene of the Anteaters. “Now in my fifth year playing with a lot of teammates who have not played in a Big West Tournament, I feel like I always need to come out and compete and give it my all so they see that and when they come off the bench they will all be ready to compete when they get a chance.”

Source: UCI Athletic Communications