No. 24 San Diego State Defeats UC Irvine in a Thrilling Victory
With 2.2 seconds left, Micah Parrish made a corner 3-pointer to give No. 24 San Diego State a 72-69 nonconference victory over visiting UC Irvine.
For the Aztecs (5-2), Nathan Mensah scored a season-high 18 points as they ended a two-game losing streak.
San Diego State won against a Big West team for the 33rd time in a row thanks to the combined efforts of Keshad Johnson and Matt Bradley, who each scored 14 points.
For the Anteaters (6-2), DJ Davis scored a career-high 28 points as they had their three-game winning run snapped. Adding 14 points was Dawson Baker.
With a trey from Parrish, the Aztecs were ahead 71-69. With 0.8 seconds left, Adam Seiko intercepted a long pass from UC Irvine and split two free shots.
Davis was unable to fire a shot before the clock ran out.
The Aztecs had a field goal percentage of 46.6, making 6 of 21 from beyond the arc.
UC Irvine was 7 of 17 from 3-point range and made 44.6 percent of its shots overall.
With 3:29 remaining, a shot by Darrion Trammell gave San Diego State a 63-62 lead. After 16 seconds, the Anteaters regained the lead thanks to Davis’ driving hoop.
With 2:38 remaining, Baker sank a 3-pointer to give UC Irvine a four-point lead. With 1:30 left, Trammell made a jumper and Seiko swished a 3-pointer to give the Aztecs the lead, 68-67.
Prior to San Diego State’s key shot from Parrish, UC Irvine was in position to pull off the upset when Baker made the quick baseline jumper with 13.6 seconds remaining.
With 16:26 remaining, Mensah made a three-point play to give San Diego State a 42-34 lead.
A 10-2 Anteaters run served as their retaliation. When there was 13:20 left in the game, Justin Hohn had tied the score at 44 after being fouled while attempting a triple.
With 10:09 left, Davis’ three-point play gave UC Irvine the lead at 49-47.
With 6:35 remaining, Davis hit a long 3-pointer to give the Anteaters a 56-52 advantage.
San Diego State led 32-30 at the break because to Bradley’s 11 points in the opening period. For the Anteaters, Davis had 15 in the first half.
