UCI Beats Bradley in a Stunner : Balanced Scoring Key to Anteaters’ 121-111 Victory

Make no mistake about it, Bradley University plays big-time college basketball. The Braves come with all the accustomed trappings: a 32-3 record last season, a former NBA head coach on the bench, a junior guard they’re grooming for All-America . . . even a real, one-year NCAA probation for recruiting violations.

But just in case UC Irvine didn’t get the message, Bradley hit the Anteaters over the head with it as the Braves loosened up for Monday night’s nonconference game.

“They were doing all these NBA moves,” Irvine point guard Joe Buchanan said. “They were disrespecting us. They acted like they were playing a high school team.”

Of course, on first impression alone, that could be considered an honest mistake. Puny Crawford Hall, which barely seats 1,200, doesn’t look much unlike your basic high school gym. And the Anteaters, with three starters 6-1 or smaller, don’t look much unlike your basic high school lineup.

But either way, Bradley’s we’re-bad act stuck in the Anteaters’ craw. And in the second half, Irvine stuck it to Bradley in Crawford Hall--rallying from an eight-point halftime deficit for a stunning 121-111 victory in front of 1,229.

The Anteaters (2-0) shot 51% from the field and used that great equalizer--the three-point shot--to great ends. Irvine hit 12 of 18 attempts from the three-point range en route to an upset win that:

--Marked the first time in school history that four Anteaters scored 20 points or more in the same game. Guard Scott Brooks led with 28, followed by center Wayne Engelstad with 24, forward Mike Doktorczyk with 22 and Buchanan with 21.

--Was the second-best offensive performance ever by an Irvine team. The 121-point total was second to the 125 the Anteaters scored against VMI in Coach Bill Mulligan’s 1980 debut.

--Set a school record for most points by two teams (232) in a single game.

And now, Irvine is undefeated against a pair of teams (Bradley and Nebraska) that both made the NCAA Tournament in 1986, combing for 51 victories in the process.

“One thing you can’t do is underestimate an opponent at this level,” said Bradley’s coach, Stan Albeck, formerly employed by the Chicago Bulls and the San Antonio Spurs.

But had the Braves (0-2) done precisely that?

“I hope not. I cautioned them all day against it,” Albeck said. “But when you look at Brooks (who stands 5-11), you do have a tendency to underestimate him. Same with Hess and even Buchanan.”

The first half was played to form, with Hersey Hawkins, Bradley’s All-America candidate, scoring 20 points and forward Donald Powell powering his way inside for 23 points.

“We came out in slow motion,” Buchanan said. “Maybe we were intimidated as a team. There they are--Air Bradley, with an NBA coach. But at halftime, we found ourselves down by only eight. And we could have been up if we had played a little smarter.”

In the second half, the Anteaters played a little smarter--which meant having Brooks and Buchanan cast away from long range as often as possible.

Brooks, who scored 36 points against Nebraska, hit 6 of 7 three-point tries and Buchanan with 4 of 8 from beyond 19-9.

Brooks had ended the first half with just 7 points on 2-of-7 shooting.

“Brooks was himself in the second half,” Engelstad said. “God, does he raise some havoc in the second half?”

Taking its lead from its smallest man, Irvine outscored Bradley, 64-46, in the second half, opening an advantage as large as 13 points (106-93).

The game’s conclusion, according to the Anteaters, was comeuppance for Bradley’s coolness during warmups.

“They were taking us for granted,” Engelstad said. “They acted so nonchalant during warmups, like they didn’t think we were anybody.

“Well, Nebraska wasn’t a fluke. And I don’t think this was, either.”