PCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament : Fullerton-UCI: Matchup of Styles : So Far, Titans Have Had the Upper Hand Over Anteaters

A UC Irvine-Cal State Fullerton basketball game is more than just a natural rivalry.

It’s a matchup of opposites.

Irvine Coach Bill Mulligan is easy-going and let’s his players do pretty much what they want off the court. Fullerton Coach George McQuarn is a disciplinarian who monitors almost every move they make. The Titans win with defense. The Anteaters win by shooting before opponents get a chance to set up. UCI’s tallest player is 6-feet 10-inches and the shortest is 5-11. Fullerton’s tallest is 6-8 (and he plays outside), and the shortest is 6-3.

All of which leads to some strange matchups for tonight’s first-round Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. Tournament game between the schools.

Fullerton (8-10 in the PCAA and 15-15 overall) has beaten Irvine in their last five games and in nine of the last 11. The last five games have been decided by between nine and 12 points. The two Anteater wins, both of which came in 1984, were by one point and three points.

The slower-but-better-shooting Anteaters (12-6, 16-11) have trouble matching up against the Titans’ quicker players, but both coaches insist Fullerton’s dominance is more complicated than that. After all, Irvine beat No. 13 Nevada Las Vegas twice this season, and the Rebels are not exactly slow afoot; UNLV ran all over Fullerton in two games.

“It’s emotion,” McQuarn said. “I think our attitude against UCI is more the reason for our success than any physical matchups or because we have better athletes.”

One thing is certain. Titan-Anteater games bring out the best in Fullerton . . . and the worst in UCI. And the Titans have an edge in the intimidation category.

Irvine guard Mike Hess was marveling at the Titans’ quickness and jumping ability after Fullerton blocked seven UCI shots in a 78-68 win in the regular-season finale Saturday at Crawford Hall.

“They don’t just block shots, they block ‘em,” he said, shaking his head. “You have to inbound the ball after they block shots . . . but first you have to go over (he points at an imaginary crowd) and say, “Could you please throw that back down here.’ ”

Fullerton has 18 blocked shots in the last five games; UCI has five. That may be one reason why the Anteaters, the conference’s best field-goal shooting team at .502, have shot 40% from the floor against the Titans this season.

Irvine’s top scorer is Johnny Rogers, a 6-10 senior who has scored in double figures 50 straight games and is averaging 21 points. He’s shooting 53% from the field but 43% against Fullerton. Rogers, who scored 73 points in Irvine’s two upsets of Las Vegas, had only 32 in the two losses to Fullerton.

Rebel Coach Jerry Tarkanian called longtime friend McQuarn with a simple question this week: “How’d you stop Rogers?”

“We put (Kerry) Boagni on him,” McQuarn replied.

“C’mon, really,” Tarkanian responded, noting that Boagni, a 6-8 senior, is hardly known for his defensive prowess.

Actually, Boagni’s defensive skills are suited to stopping Rogers, who scores mostly on medium- to long-range jumpers. Boagni is reasonably quick for a big man, and because he isn’t much of a rebounder, anyway, he has no aversion to going outside to shadow Rogers. In the last game, Boagni held Rogers to 17 points and had eight rebounds in the process.

Boagni’s offensive contributions have been a key as well. He’s shooting 42% from the floor, but he’s made 12 of 18 against UCI. And the Titans’ other forward, 6-7 Henry Turner, has scored 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the two games.

At point guard, the Titans’ 6-4 Kevin Henderson took advantage of 5-11 Scott Brooks for 21 points in the last meeting. Henderson simply backed Brooks into the lane and hit short jumpers all night.

Mulligan, a firm believer in man-to-man defenses, says he doesn’t plan to make any major changes. Hours after Saturday’s loss, Mulligan said: “I think I’ve figured out a way to beat them.” But he wasn’t telling any secrets.

The Anteaters’ real inside player is 6-9 senior Tod Murphy, who has averaged 17 points in 9 games against the Titans. Murphy, who has been suffering from the flu this week, scored 19 and 23 points in the two games this season. He’ll play tonight, but how close he is to 100% remains a question.

Murphy says he and his teammates aren’t worried about any jinxes, though.

“I don’t mind at all,” Murphy said about the first-round matchup. “I’d like to play them in the first round. It’ll show what we’re made of.”

FACE TO FACE: Anteaters vs. Titans

Here’s a look at how tonight’s UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton starters have fared in competition between the schools:

UC IRVINE

G FG FGA PCT. FT FTA Johnny Rogers (6-10, Sr., F) 5 26 60 .433 24 29 Wayne Englestad (6-8, So., F) 5 15 39 .385 8 10 Tod Murphy (6-9, Sr., C) 9 45 83 .542 57 76 Scott Brooks (5-11, Jr., G) 2 3 13 .231 5 5 Joe Buchanan (6-1, Jr., G) 2 5 15 .333 0 0

PCT. REB AVG. TP AVG. Johnny Rogers (6-10, Sr., F) .828 37 7.4 78 15.6 Wayne Englestad (6-8, So., F) .800 27 5.4 38 7.6 Tod Murphy (6-9, Sr., C) .750 65 7.2 149 16.6 Scott Brooks (5-11, Jr., G) 1.000 6 3.0 13 6.5 Joe Buchanan (6-1, Jr., G) .000 4 2.0 10 5.0

CAL STATE FULLERTON

G FG FGA PCT. FT FTA Kerry Boagni (6-8, Sr., F) 5 35 68 .515 0 0 Henry Turner (6-7, So., F) 4 14 24 .583 11 18 Herman Webster (6-6 1/2 Jr., C) 2 7 14 .500 5 10 Kevin Henderson (6-4, Sr., G) 5 36 56 .643 30 40 Richard Morton (6-3, So., G) 4 7 15 .467 3 5

PCT. REB AVG. TP AVG. Kerry Boagni (6-8, Sr., F) .000 22 4.4 71 14.2 Henry Turner (6-7, So., F) .611 70 5.0 39 9.8 Herman Webster (6-6 1/2 Jr., C) .500 6 3.0 19 9.5 Kevin Henderson (6-4, Sr., G) .750 12 2.4 106 21.2 Richard Morton (6-3, So., G) .600 7 1.8 17 4.3