Irvine Almost Sling-Shots Another : But No. 3 Iowa, Now 12-0, Survives David Vs. Goliath Test

UC Irvine, the little team that pulled slingshot jobs on UCLA once and Las Vegas twice last season, nearly bonked another giant between the eyes in the championship final of its Anteater Tournament Monday night.

The Iowa Hawkeyes, third-ranked in the nation, were the competition this time. And until the final tick of the clock, the longest winning streak in the nation was in jeopardy.

Down by two with 20 seconds left, Irvine had the ball and a chance to tie. Then, the Anteaters suddenly lost their grip--on the ball, the upset, everything--enabling Iowa to hang on for a 105-103 triumph before 4,380 at Long Beach Arena.

Irvine worked the ball down to forward to Kevin Floyd, who drove the baseline and bounced it to center Wayne Engelstad. And the ball kept bouncing . . . right through Engelstad’s legs.

Scrambling, guard Scott Brooks scooped up the loose ball and pitched it to Mike Hess. Four seconds were left. Two Hawkeyes swarmed Hess.

Hess tried to squeeze his body between the two for a shot at the buzzer, but one of them, Kevin Gamble, wrestled the ball away. The game ended without Irvine attempting the shot that could have forced overtime.

By that much, the Hawkeyes extended their 1986 record to an unblemished 12-0.

The Anteaters (5-4) had the Hawkeyes tied with two minutes remaining before the laws of nature and Naismith reasserted themselves, allowing the best team to win.

Irvine led by as many as nine points in the second half and was tied, 98-98, before Iowa forward Ed Horton powered his way inside for a basket and a foul. With 2:06 left, Horton sank the free throw for a three-point play and a three-point lead.

The next time down, Horton was fouled again and sank his foul shots again, building the Hawkeyes’ advantage to 103-98.

Irvine, meanwhile, was busy casting away uncommonly poor shots. Brooks misfired on a three-pointer, Mike Doktorczyk blew a layup.

Finally, two free throws by Engelstad broke the drought. Then, after two Iowa free throws, Mike Doktorczyk swished a three-point field goal with 39 seconds left.

Irvine gave a foul with 25 seconds to a play, which proved a wise move, with Iowa guard B.J. Armstrong missing the front end of a one-and-one. Five second later, Irvine called timeout to plot the play that never produced a shot.

Upon qualifying for the final after a 29-point first-round victory over Eastern Washington, Irvine guard Joe Buchanan dispensed the notion that the Anteaters were outclassed and without hope against Iowa. He outlined a three-point plan for an upset.

“One, we have to play extremely smart,” Buchanan explained. “Two, we have to play harder than we have all year. And, three, we have to push our break.”

For the first half, Buchanan had it right on all three points.

The Anteaters played smart--committing just 7 turnovers, working for good-percentage shots and hitting a good percentage (54%) of them.

Did they play hard? Engelstad’s uniform was completely drenched in perspiration after 10 minutes and Brooks, his jersey blood-stained after 22 first-half points, was so hyped-up that his hands shook from nerves when he called for the ball.

And they pushed their fast break, forcing Iowa into a fullcourt game that minimized the Hawkeyes’ overwhelming physical advantage inside.

In short, Irvine played its best half of the season--and took a 60-56 lead into intermission for it.

And that put Irvine in good position for that important moment at the end--only to see the shot that could have turn into a shot that never was.