UC Irvine Roughed Up on Road by Tulsa, 84-66

Those little fellows from UC Irvine, whose runt-and-gun offense had ambushed a pair of giants last week at Crawford Hall, hit the road for the first time this season Thursday night.

As someone once said, the road hit back.

The Anteaters, who were administered an 84-66 beating by Tulsa University before 7,135 fans at Maxwell Convention Center, discovered that life in the wide-open spaces can be wild.

By the time the outcome had been decided, forward Mark Warren had been knocked out of the game, and guard Scott Brooks, the diminutive leader of Irvine’s three-point brigade, had been knocked silly. The outside jump shot that found mostly net during upsets of Nebraska and Bradley, kept clanking off unfriendly rims. And after Irvine took an eight-point lead in the second half, the Anteaters lost their grip on both the basketball and their nerve.

Undefeated Tulsa (4-0) ran off second-half scoring bursts of 12-2 and 13-0 to power its way past the longshots from Irvine (2-1).

On this night, Crawford Hall seemed a million miles away.

“I’d like to do what UCLA used to do--schedule all our December games at home and then go on the road in (the) conference,” Irvine Coach Bill Mulligan said. “The road is tough. Hardly anyone wins at Tulsa. Last season, Bradley was 32-1 but lost the (Missouri Valley Conference) tournament here.

“But Vegas is a tough place to play, and we won there last season. That’s how we approached this game, too. We thought we could win this one.”

Sure, why not? No matter that Tulsa is ranked as high as ninth in one national poll or that the Anteaters’ starting lineup was giving away an average of 3 1/2 inches a man. The charmed life that Irvine had led against Nebraska and Bradley--averaging 115 points in the victories--was enough to create a mirage for a while in Oklahoma.

“We were up by eight at the half,” Mulligan said. “You figure, ‘We’re on a roll--let’s keep going.’ ”

Reality, however, indicated that Irvine had been presented an eight-point lead by default. Tulsa muscled its way inside virtually at will, but when it came to shooting the ball, the Golden Hurricane couldn’t find the basket. Tulsa sank just 12 of 44 shots in the first half--a paltry 27%.

“We had 27 shots in the paint,” Tulsa Coach J.D. Barnett noted, “and we shoot 27%. Holy cow.”

The Anteaters, however, didn’t know how to respond. They kept turning the ball over and kept missing shots at an uncommonly high rate (making only 13 of 36 for 36%) to keep the Hurricane close.

For the game, Irvine shot 38.5%.

“We didn’t get anything off the break,” Brooks said. “We didn’t hit the open shots like we usually do. I don’t think their defense made us shoot that bad. Maybe it was just being on the road for that first time.”

Tulsa’s defense did succeed in taking away the key to Irvine’s offense--Brooks. With 2:20 left, Hurricane forward Donald Royster leveled Brooks with a blow to the head. Royster’s elbow cracked Brooks across the right temple and sent the 5-11 guard crashing into the padding of the basket standard.

Brooks wound up on the floor for more than five minutes before being helped to his feet. He left the game with 17 points, 15 below his average of 32.0.

Brooks said he was all right after the game, adding: “It was a sharp pain at first. I felt really dizzy, but I could’ve played.”

Warren could not say the same. He had left the game earlier with an ankle sprain that will require X-rays. Trainer Paul Gardikas indicated there could be ligament damage.

Fouls took their attrition on other Anteaters. Center Wayne Engelstad (4 points), forward Mike Doktorczyk (15), guard Joe Buchanan (6) and reserve Frank Woods (12) all fouled out.

Worse yet for the Anteaters, they have to hang around here for two more days. Saturday, Irvine plays this city’s other Division I basketball team, Oral Roberts.

For the Anteaters, there’s no escape yet.