Heartbreak in Irvine as UC Davis falls in overtime in Big West men's basketball
Anteaters come back from 14 down as Aggies finish sixth in Big West standings
IRVINE - The last shot to win in regulation didn’t fall for UC Davis as UC Irvine dominated in overtime to take a tense 79-69 win Saturday night in the final Big West men’s basketball regular season game before a delirious crowd of 2,963 in the Bren Events Center.
The heartbreaking loss drops the Aggies to 11-9 in the final Big West standings, leaving them tied for sixth with UC Santa Barbara. Because the Aggies beat UCSB twice in the regular season, UCD will be the No. 6 seed and UCSB No. 7 in next week’s Big West Conference tournament at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada.
As such, the Aggies and Gauchos will square off once again Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. in the tournament’s first round. The winner of that one will still have to claim three more victories to win the Big West title and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The Aggies, who entered the game tied for fourth and still hoping for a first-round bye that goes to the No. 3 and 4 seeds, were hot and determined from the start, racing away to a 38-24 lead before the Anteaters scored two quick baskets in the final minute of the first half to trim the margin to 38-28 at half.
Irvine quickly tied things at 49 early in the second half, then the lead changed hands seven times, before a 3-pointer from Niko Rocak tied things at 65 in the final minute. Connor Sevilla rebounded an Irvine miss and the Aggies played for the final shot, but Rocak’s trey from the left corner bounced off the rim as time expired.
Rocak, who finished with 20 points, was the logical choice to take the final shot given that he was 6 of 11 from long range at that point.
Brayden Fagbemi gave the Aggies a 67-65 lead with 4:36 remaining in overtime, but that was the last field goal of the night for UCD, which missed its last seven attempts from the field as Irvine steadily pulled away.