INDIANAPOLIS — One of the best seasons in the history of the UC Irvine men’s basketball program ended in heartbreak, undone by errant free throws and a point-blank miss as time expired.
Chattanooga’s Garrison Keeslar made a go-ahead jumper with 11 seconds left in overtime and UCI’s Jurian Dixon missed a short jumper at the buzzer as the Mocs defeated the Anteaters, 85-84, in the NIT championship game on Thursday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
UCI center Bent Leuchten had erupted for 11 second-half points to help stave off a Chattanooga comeback in regulation. But the 7-foot-1 German’s limited defensive mobility, and his team’s offensive reliance on him on its penultimate possession proved costly.
Leuchten had been effective patrolling the paint all night, but the Mocs took advantage of his positioning late, with a pair of jump shots in the 5-minute overtime period.
UCI led 82-80 with 1:23 left, but UTC freshman forward Collin Mulholland looped around the 3-point arc for an open 3-point shot, Leuchten trailing behind. The play had worked only four times before out of 16 tries, but this one went in and changed the game.
UCI (32-7) regained the lead on a Myles Che baseline jumper with 1:13 left. Chattanooga (29-9) missed a 3-point attempt with less than a minute left, but Leuchten missed a pair of free throws with 31 seconds left. Chattanooga then took advantage of Leuchten on defense, with Keeslar converting a wide-open look near the foul line for an 85-84 lead before both teams squandered key opportunities.
With the Anteaters trailing but deciding against using any of their four remaining timeouts, Justin Hohn looked for the reliable Leuchten at the offensive end, but his pass was telegraphed and forced, and wound up in his the Mocs’ hands.
UCI was forced to foul, and Chattanooga’s Honor Huff missed two free throws with 2.7 seconds left, giving the Anteaters one final attempt.
With 2.4 seconds left, UCI’s Devin Tillis launched the ball down the court to Leuchten near the UTC free-throw line, where the big man caught it with one hand and fed an open Dixon near the basket but the ball bounced off the rim as time expired.
Tillis had 19 points and eight rebounds as all five UCI starters scored in double figures. Leuchten had his 20th double-double of the season (15 points, 11 rebounds), while Justin Hohn had 17 points and six rebounds, Dixon had 16 points and five rebounds and Che had 13 points.
The Anteaters held Chattanooga to 36.8% shooting from the field, but the Mocs outscored them 42-15 from 3-point range and UCI gave away points at the free-throw line. The third-best free-throw shooting team in the nation at better than 80%, UCI shot 21 for 34 (61.8%) on Thursday.
Mullholland scored 19 points for the Mocs, who tied a single-season program record for victories after winning 17 of their last 18 games to capture the program’s first postseason title. Trey Bonham (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Keeslar (14 points, 10 rebounds) each finished with a double-double.
The Anteaters – playing for their first NIT title – created a bit of separation early in the second half with a 7-0 run for a 48-40 lead.
UTC chipped away down the stretch in regulation, a comeback fueled by a pair of Keeslar 3-pointers. The Mocs eventually went ahead with 16.3 seconds left when Huff drew a controversial foul by kicking his leg out on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws for a 76-74 lead.
UCI’s Che then drew a foul of his own on the other end and went 2 for 3 at the line, leaving the score tied. Chattanooga had multiple chances to win it in the waning seconds of regulation, including a Mulholland 3-point attempt that rimmed out at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.
The score was close for the bulk of the first half, capped by an exciting sequence in the waning seconds. Tillis gave UCI the lead on a layup with four seconds to play before Bonham drained a shot from beyond midcourt at the buzzer, sending the Mocs into the locker room with a 38-37 lead.
More to come on this story.
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