Cal Poly falls to UC Irvine in OT thriller as Mustangs still seek first Big West win
Cal Poly’s men’s basketball team gave 1,834 home fans a thrill and showed they can match up against the top team in the Big West Conference, but the Mustangs ultimately fell just short Thursday in a 98-89 overtime loss to UC Irvine.
The Mustangs (6-9, 0-3 Big West) displayed their fast-paced style of play in the second half to outscore the Anteaters (12-2, 2-0) 42-31, capped off by a 3-pointer by sharp-shooter Isaac Jessup that wedged at the back of the rim and softly dropped through the net to tie the score at 80 with 10 seconds left.
Irvine’s Myles Che, who tallied 22 points, came up just short on a mid-range jumpshot at the buzzer in regulation after a hesitation drive.
With a flair for the dramatic, Cal Poly now has extended three of its last four games to overtime, including a 95-94 victory over Denver on Dec. 17 at Mott Gym after falling behind by 23 points in that contest.
But the Anteaters — led by fiery coach Russell Turner, whose voice boomed across the gym at times when shouting instructions to players or pleading his case with refs — didn’t let Cal Poly celebrate after the Mustangs knotted the game at the end of regulation to make up a 49-38 halftime deficit.
The Mustangs were led by 6-foot-8 junior forward Aaron Price Jr., who posted 16 points and eight rebounds, and graduate senior point guard Jarred Hyder, who had 15 points and seven assists. Team-leading scorer Owen Koonce, who’s averaging 18 points per game, tallied 13 points.
“It was a really physical battle for both teams, and the first game after break (the Mustangs last played Dec. 21, falling 86-82 to Omaha),” said Cal Poly Coach Mike DeGeorge. “They made some key plays, and we had some bad turnovers. It got to be a two- to three-possession game, and we really didn’t make any shots down the stretch there to close the game. In overtime, you get five minutes and we didn’t make it happen.”
Playing a smaller lineup compared to Irvine, Cal Poly had a tough time keeping Bent Leuchten, a 7-foot-1 senior from Germany, out of the paint, and he tallied 24 points and 11 rebounds, with several converted layups against smaller Mustang defenders.
Devin Tillis, a 6-foot-7 senior forward, had a game-high 25 points and added 10 rebounds for Irvine.
DeGeorge said that the Mustangs will need to do a better job of preventing entry passes to big men like Leuchten against future opponents, but he added the Mustangs had some success at times in the game with their collective defensive effort.
A halftime adjustment made a difference on improving offensive flow, according to the Cal Poly coach.
“They had a different game plan than other teams have deployed,” DeGeorge said. “They really got into our guards and we really just needed to screen and we weren’t screening. At halftime, we started to make that adjustment and that just freed up a lot more looks for us in our second half.”
Price, who posted his career high in points and rebounds on Thursday off the bench, said that his goal has been to carve out a role with the team and provide a spark.
“I just really could tell we needed a bit of a kick, a bit of a boost, and my main objective was to come in and get guys fired up, and make some plays to get everyone involved and get my team going,” Price said. “The way the team is structured, it’s going to be someone else’s night every single night, and you never know when you’re jersey is going to be called.”
Jessup said that he was fortunate that Tillis just missed stealing a pass from Hyder on his game-tying shot.
“He missed (the steal), and I just needed a little bit of open space to get off the shot,” said Jessup, who had 11 points, including three 3-pointers.
Jessup said that it was “cool” to go to battle against the Big West favorite, but giving up more than 90 points and some costly turnovers were points of frustration.
“We just have to play better defense,” Jessup said. “Teams should not score 90 points on us. And I get they’re a good team, but we think we’re just as good. We’re trying to do better defense. We have to do better. .... Coach has said it in the locker room. We have to start winning to put ourselves in position to be in the Big West tournament. We have full confidence that we can win that tournament. We have to start winning these games. We will.”
Cal Poly next faces Hawaii on Saturday at 9 p.m. on the road. The game will be aired on ESPN+.
This story was originally published January 2, 2025 at 10:26 PM.
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