UC Irvine Goes Out in Style : Anteaters Say Goodby to Little Arena With Big Win

They closed the book on The Library Saturday night. Crawford Hall, that little cement box that used to pass as UC Irvine’s basketball arena, has seen the Anteaters for the final time.

The next home game Irvine plays will be housed in the sleek and chic Donald Bren Events Center, the new 5,000-seat facility that has been two years and $15 million the making. Such is progress.

But after beating Pepperdine, 103-91, before 1,247 in the Crawford finale, several Anteaters had to wonder: Is it too late to renege on the deal?

“I’ve loved playing in there,” said center Wayne Engelstad, who bid adieu with a career-high 25 points. “We might be losing something by leaving. I think it could hurt us.

“A lot of other teams come here, take one look and say, ‘How could the team that plays here be any good?’ The big-arena teams come in with this nonchalant attitude and we take advantage of it.”

It had worked twice this season, as Nebraska and Bradley discovered. Irvine pulled off a pair of upsets, with senior guard Scott Brooks scoring 36 and 28 points in the two games.

Saturday against Pepperdine, Brooks had 26 point. He was 9 of 19 from the field and 6 of 10 from three-point range.

“That should tell you something,” Brooks said. “I love this place. I don’t know if I want to leave. It’s been really good to me.”

If the Anteaters were getting a tad drunk on nostalgia, it’s to be expected. Earlier this week, Irvine was all but bedridden with homesickness--losing twice at Boise State and Montana in uniformly lethargic performances.

Home may not be much . . . but at least it’s home.

The victory came at the expense of the slumping Waves (2-6), who have lost six straight. The Waves were within a point, 54-53, at halftime, thanks to the muscular play of forward Levy Middlebrooks, a nose tackle in high tops, who had 10 points and 9 rebounds in the first half. But in the second, Irvine began pressuring the Pepperdine guards, and JC transfers Ed Allen and Donny Moore began to press.

Allen finished with 15 points on just 7-of-20 shooting. Moore played 27 minutes and did not score.

“We have some Division I guards with no experience on this level,” Pepperdine Coach Jim Harrick said. “We better be patient with them. Around school, they’re starting to call me Job.

“Last year, Middlebrooks and (forward Eric) White used to be spoon-fed by (Dwayne) Polee and (Jon) Korfas. They were spoiled. Now, we’ve got inexperienced people in those positions and it’s showing.”

Irvine (4-3), in contrast, is guard heavy. The Anteaters also received 13 points from point guard Joe Buchanan.

But a new addition to the starting lineup, sophomore forward Kevin Floyd, made the most notable impact on the Irvine offense. Floyd, a transfer from Georgetown, made his first start as an Anteater and scored 18 points, sinking 7 of 10 shots.

Floyd, who was ineligible during Irvine’s first six games, got in just in time to say goodby to Crawford Hall. Afterward, the Anteaters took turns at snipping the nets and carrying off a couple of souvenirs.

“If we have to leave,” Engelstad said, “at least we went out in style.”