UCI men’s basketball comeback buzz lingers

The UC Irvine men’s basketball team’s late rally to claim a 91-84 overtime win at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo was still the source of a lingering buzz Monday along the hallways and offices of the school’s athletic department.

Bob Olson, the Associate Athletic Director for Athletic Communications in his 28th year at the school, called it the greatest men’s basketball comeback in his tenure.

UCI, down by eight with 38 seconds left in regulation, hit four three-pointers, including one by Darren Moore with .9 seconds remaining, to force overtime.

Junior guard Patrick Rembert, who had 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists, said the revelry in the locker room after the game extended beyond the players.

“We were all jumping up and down, just hyped,” Rembert said of the players. “[Coach Pat Douglass] and [assistant coach Doug Oliver] were just going nuts in the locker room. They were just hugging and saying they had never seen anything like that in their lifetimes.”

The win earned the ’Eaters the No. 7 seed in the eight-team Big West Conference Tournament that begins Wedensday. UCI will get a rematch with Cal Poly at approximately 8:15 p.m. at the Anaheim Convention Center.