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Men's Basketball:
Free Throws Sink UC Irvine at Eastern Kentucky
Nov. 24, 2009 RICHMOND, Ky. --- Eastern Kentucky won the game at the free-throw line in defeating UC Irvine, 67-57, in sub-regional action of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic at Richmond, Ky., Tuesday night. The Colonels (3-1) hit 22 of 26 foul shots, including 17 of 20 in the second half. UCI hit just 7 of 14 from the free-throw line for the game. Freshman guard Mike Wilder led the Anteaters (2-3) with 18 points, hitting six threes (on nine attempts), and he added two assists and one steal in 27 minutes. Eric Wise and Michael Hunter scored 11 points each while Adam Folker pulled down seven boards. Justin Stommes led Eastern Kentucky with 21 points, hitting 7 of 12 field goals and 7 of 8 free throws. Josh Taylor added 16 points. The Colonels, who were shooting 49 percent from three-point range entering the game, hit just 21.7 percent of their treys on 5 of 23. UCI, sparked by Wilder, hit 10 of 25 from beyond the arc. Taylor (13 points) and Stommes (12) combined for 25 first-half points in leading Eastern Kentucky to a 31-23 lead at the break. The lead was extended to 38-24 on a basket by Taylor with 17:18 remaining but the Anteaters closed to within eight at 43-35 on a three by Hunter with 12:31 left. EKU built its lead back up to 12 at 49-37 on two free throws by Josh Daniel with 9:17 remaining before the `Eaters went on a 7-2 run, capped by a Wilder three with 6:18 left to cut the margin to 51-44. UCI closed to within six in the final minute, the last at 63-57 on a basket by Hunter with 40 seconds left, but the `Eaters were forced to foul and the Colonels scored the final four points. UCI shot 43.5 percent from the field for the game to 40.8 percent for EKU. The 'Eaters had 16 turnovers to the Colonels' nine and both teams grabbed 30 rebounds. UCI played its second straight game without the services of senior center
Zack Atkinson, who is sidelined with a shoulder ailment.
"We are trying various combinations of players to be as competitive as possible and look forward to Zack getting back out there and contributing," UCI head coach Pat Douglass said. "I thought we had a good effort against a seasoned team that is a good ball club --- we just couldn't get ahead when we needed some stops. "We've been looking for some additional outside shooters other than Michael Hunter and it was good to see Mike Wilder step up," Douglass added. UCI closes out play in the tournament Wednesday against Fairleigh Dickinson at 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Time). |
