UC Irvine tops Hawaii to win Big West
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Anaheim, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - UC Irvine will be headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history thanks to a gritty performance on Saturday night.
Luke Nelson scored 17 points to help the Anteaters to a 67-58 win over Hawaii and claim the Big West title.
Will Davis II had 10 points and 10 rebounds and Alex Young added 10 points for third-seeded Irvine (21-12).
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Aaron Valdes led the Rainbow Warriors (22-13) with 17 points and Garrett Nevels chipped in with 14.
Isaac Fleming fired in a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 20-7 lead early on, but the Anteaters slowly chipped away at the deficit.
Mamadou Ndiaye's layup with over three minutes left cut the margin to five, and Hawaii took a 33-29 lead into the locker room at half.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ioannis Dimakopoulos converted a jumper just before the midway point of the second to give the Anteaters their first lead of the game at 41-39.
Irvine tried to extend the lead, but the Warriors had an answer each time to keep it close.
Vlades nailed a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to two, then Aaron Wright recorded a basket before Young knocked down two free throws for a 56-50 edge. Irvine led by six when Roderick Bobbitt converted a three-point play with under a minute left to make it a one-possession game.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}That would be it for Hawaii on the offensive end, however, as Wright and Young made two free throws apiece down the stretch and Davis punctuated the win with a windmill slam.
Game Notes
Hawaii had its three-game winning streak halted ... Irvine has won four straight over the Warriors, including all three meetings this season ... Hawaii was held to 23-of-61 shooting ... The Anteaters had a 24-16 edge in the paint.