Mulligan Hits Milestone in Irvine’s 80-76 Victory

UC Irvine basketball Coach Bill Mulligan reached a milestone Saturday night, but just barely.

The Anteaters had to scramble in the final minute for an 80-76 Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. victory over Pacific--the 100th win for Mulligan at UC Irvine.

Anteater guard Scott Brooks hit a three-point shot from the right corner with 33 seconds left to give Irvine a 78-76 lead after UOP had gone in front, 76-75, with 1:13 to play on two free throws by Rich Anema.

Brooks, who wasn’t offered a scholarship to Pacific after a successful prep career near the Stockton campus, also prevented the Tigers from tying the game by recovering a loose ball. Brooks got the ball to Joe Buchanan, who threw a long pass to Troy Carmon for a dunk with nine seconds left.

The win gives Mulligan a 100-65 record in his sixth season at Irvine. But Mulligan was more concerned with where it puts Irvine (12-9 overall, 8-4 record in the PCAA) in the conference race.

Irvine entered this game with a rather shaky grasp on third place in the conference standings. With fourth-place San Jose State upset by Cal State Long Beach and New Mexico State stunned by Utah State, the Anteaters can tie New Mexico State (14-6, 8-3) with a win over the Aggies Monday night.

Senior forward Tod Murphy led the Anteaters with 20 points, moving within eight points of Dave Baker, the leading career scorer in Irvine history.

“It would have been nice to get it at home, more for my parents than for myself,” Murphy said. “But it’ll come eventually. I’d rather have the win.”

Johnny Rogers, who sat out Thursday’s win over Fresno State with the flu, came off the bench to play 27 minutes and score 16 points. It was Rogers who knocked away a pass from Pacific’s Brent Counts, enabling Brooks to recover and the Anteaters to maintain their lead in the final seconds.

Guard Domingo Rosario kept Pacific in the game by scoring 24 points, despite leaving the game for more than eight minutes to have his left knee taped.

Mulligan downplayed reaching the 100-win mark. “All it means is that I’m getting old,” he said.