Martin, Nelson help UC Irvine reach Big West title game (Mar 10, 2017)
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) Jaron Martin scored 18 points and Luke Nelson 14 as UC Irvine rallied late in the game to regain the lead and defeat Long Beach State 62-57 in a Big West Conference semifinal on Friday night.
The top-seeded Anteaters (21-13) will play No. 2 seed UC Davis (21-12) in the title game Saturday.
UC Irvine shot 25 of 54 from the field (46 percent) and Martin had three of the team's five 3-pointers. The shooting was enough to offset Long Beach State's seven 3-pointers, as the Roadrunners were 21 of 66 (32 percent) and committed 10 turnovers.
UC Irvine had five steals, blocked 10 shots - Jonathan Galloway with five - and scored 15 points off turnovers and led 32-20 in the paint. There were 11 lead changes in the contest and Long Beach surged ahead after an 8-0 run to take the lead, but the Anteaters answered with a 7-0 run to hold a 49-46 edge with 7:31 left and led from there.
Justin Bibbins led the Roadrunners (15-19) with 15 points.
