With time winding down and the #24 San Diego State Aztecs trailing UC Irvine by a point in the final seconds of Tuesday night's game game at Viejas Arena, San Diego State's Micah Parrish hit a three-pointer from the corner with just two seconds remaining to give the Aztecs a two-point lead.
In a back-and-forth battle, the Aztecs held on for a 72-69 victory against the Anteaters.
San Diego State improved to 5-2 in non-conference play, bouncing back after two straight losses to top-15 teams at the Maui Invitational last week.
UC Irvine led 62-59 with four minutes remaining. The Aztecs scored four quick points on two straight baskets from Nathan Mensah and Darrion Trammell. UC Irvine's DJ Davis, who finished with a game-high 28 points, responded with a runner in the lane to give the Anteaters a 64-63 lead. After the final media timeout, UC Irvine's Dawson Baker connected on a three-pointer to extend the lead to 67-63 with 2:35 remaining.
The Aztecs responded with a 5-0 run, including Adam Seiko's three-pointer to put San Diego State ahead 68-67 with 1:28 left. Baker hit a jumper with 13 seconds remaining to give UC Irvine a 69-68 lead. After a timeout, the Aztecs responded with Parrish's three on the next possession.
The Aztecs jumped out to a 20-12 lead with just more than eight minutes remaining in the first half. After a 5-0 run from UC Irvine to make it 20-17, the Aztecs responded with four straight points to take a 24-17 advantage.
UC Irvine finished the half on a 13-8 run. The Aztecs led 32-30 at the break.
Matt Bradley led San Diego State with 11 points and four rebounds in the first half. Bradley finished with 14 points. The Anteaters shot 43% from the floor and went 4-for-8 from three-point range in the first half, while Davis led UC Irvine with 15 points.
San Diego State took a 39-32 lead in the early part of the second half. UC Irvine responded with a 9-3 run to make it a one-point Aztec lead. Trailing by three points, the Anteaters' Justin Hohn was fouled on a three-point attempt. Hohn hit each of his free throw attempts to tie the game at 44-44 with just more than 13 minutes to play.
Mensah scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half, while also collecting six rebounds. Keshad Johnson was the only other Aztec that scored in double figures, finishing with 10 points and four rebounds.
San Diego State hosts Division III Occidental College on Friday evening at 7 p.m.
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