UCI Leaves Crawford on Upbeat Note

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 5,000-seat facility that has been two years and $15 million in the making. Such is progress.

But after beating Pepperdine, 103-91, before 1,247 in their 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.”

Oh yeah?

“A lot of other teams come here, take one look and say, ‘How could the team that plays here be any good?’ ” Engelstad explained. “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 welcomed both visitors with a pair of upsets, as senior guard Scott Brooks led both victories by scoring 36 and 28 points.

Saturday against Pepperdine, Brooks had 26 points. 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 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 Pepperdine Waves (2-6), who have lost six straight. Pepperdine’s all-new backcourt once again proved to be everything it’s been billed.

Very new.

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 Pepperdine is still feeling the side effects of the graduation of guards Dwayne Polee and Jon Korfas. In the second half, Irvine began pressuring the replacements, a couple of JC transfers named Ed Allen and Donny Moore.

Allen and Moore responded by pressing. Allen finished with 15 points, but 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 Polee and 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. Along with Brooks, the Anteaters also received 13 points from point guard Joe Buchanan.

But the new wrinkle in Irvine’s offense is--get ready--scoring inside. Yes, the Anteaters are now feeding Engelstad the basketball and have two lively new bodies at forward in Frank Woods and Kevin Floyd.

Floyd, a sophomore transfer from Georgetown, made his first start of the season and made a noticeable impact. He made 7 of 10 shots, scored 18 points and had 5 rebounds.

Woods, meanwhile, contributed eight points and four rebounds in a 14-minute reserve appearance.

And then there was Engelstad, who hit 12 of 21 shots, most of them from short-range.

“Teams were just flying out at our guards,” Irvine Coach Bill Mulligan said. “We had to do something. Wayne has really picked up things inside for us.”

Engelstad talked about the new Anteater strategy.

“If we have to set up half-court, the ball is supposed to touch my hand at least once,” Engelstad said. “Then I can either turn and shoot or kick the ball out to a guard. If I hit it, it destroys defenses.

“A night like this feels good. It’s been a while.”

Brooks attributed it to being back in Crawford Hall, one last time.

“We know this gym like the back of our hands,” Brooks said. “There’s gonna be some adjustment to be made. Through the course of the year, it’s gonna take time to get used to the Bren Center.”

Mulligan, for one, is glad to be moving upward and onward. To him, the Bren Center means better recruiting and better scheduling.

But he also admitted it’s hard not to have a soft spot in his heart for old Crawford Hall.

“I hate to leave it because our record is so good here,” said Mulligan, whose Irvine teams won 81% of their games at Crawford. “For a final game, I think the people saw a good game. I’m glad we didn’t have some team come in and hold the ball.”

Mulligan and the Anteaters exited Crawford Hall the way they wanted--running and winning.