Letdown Isn’t a Problem for UCI, 95-80 : Anteaters Defeat 49ers, Take Sole Possession of Second Place in PCAA

Bill Mulligan’s greatest fear wasn’t realized Thursday night. A few minor anxieties, maybe, but the biggie--The Letdown--was averted.

Mulligan’s UC Irvine team had a few days of back-patting after last Saturday’s 99-92 upset of Nevada Las Vegas. Mulligan’s concern was that the Anteaters would have trouble ending the celebration of their biggest win of the season in time to play Cal State Long Beach, the team very much alone at the bottom of the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. standings.

Although Irvine played what Mulligan called a “pretty sloppy” game, it was good enough to give the Anteaters a 95-80 win in front of 1,052 spectators at Long Beach, and sole possession of second place in the PCAA. Senior forward Johnny Rogers made up for 23 UCI turnovers with a game-high 29 points and 11 rebounds.

Irvine is 10-5 in conference, 14-10 overall. The Anteaters’ recent improvement has coincided with New Mexico State’s slump. The Aggies lost to UNLV, 92-75, Thursday night, enabling the Anteaters to take over second.

Long Beach is 2-12, 6-19, and--despite Mulligan’s fears--might have been the ideal opponent for Irvine’s return to earth. The Anteaters can get away with 23 turnovers against this team.

Of course, good shooting doesn’t hurt. Rogers was 7 of 9 from the floor in the first half, leading UCI to a 50-37, halftime lead. The Anteaters shot 62.1% from the field in the half, 53.3% for the game. Those numbers didn’t escape 49er Coach Ron Palmer.

“One thing about shooting,” he said. “It can solve a lot of problems. If they can shoot like that the rest of the way, they’re going to be tough for anyone to handle.”

Rogers has scored 91 points in his last three games, and most of those have come from long range. He led the team in back-pats for his 41-point performance against UNLV.

“I’ve never seen anything like it at Irvine,” he said. “People I don’t even know are coming up to me and congratulating me. It sort of reminds me of high school. It’s a good feeling.”

Mulligan’s only feeling about Thursday’s game was a sinking one. And now that it’s over?

“Now I’m starting to worry about Santa Barbara (UCI’s opponent next Monday),” he said. “I don’t wanna be like (Jerry) Tarkanian. I wanna be an optimist. I wanna be happy.”

Tod Murphy scored 14 points for the Anteaters despite early foul trouble. Guard Scott Brooks had 14 and Joe Buchanan had a season-high 13. Those were reasons enough for Mulligan to be happy. Long Beach pulled to within 51-41 early in the second half but was never closer.

Said Mulligan, less than satisfied: “I told our guys with about five minutes to go and we were up by 20, ‘If you can play this poorly and be up by 20, we must be a pretty good team.’ ”

Morlon Wiley returned to the 49ers’ starting lineup and scored a career-high 22 points. Sophomore center DeAnthony Langston added 15. But Long Beach, which entered this week last in the PCAA in team field-goal percentage, was 30 of 78 (38.5%) from the field.

“The story of our season is that we haven’t been able to convert easy shots,” Palmer said.

Buchanan has been making shots--easy or not--for UCI recently. He has scored in double figures in five straight games, and is clearly looking to shoot more than he was earlier in the season.

“I think that comes with confidence,” he said. “If the shot’s there for me, I’m going to take it. I think I’m in a groove now, and I think we’re all starting to peak.

“We have to think about the mental frame we were in for Vegas and bring that into these next three games.”

After Santa Barbara, the Anteaters close out the regular season with home games against Las Vegas and Cal State Fullerton. After a season of considerable ups and downs, UCI has a realistic chance of finishing second in the conference. It didn’t seem very likely when the Anteaters entered PCAA play on Jan. 2 with a meek, 4-5 record.

“If somebody had told me after nonconference that we’d have 10 wins with three games to go, I’d have been delighted,” Mulligan said.