Irvine, Fresno Try to Bounce Back Tonight

Momentum won’t be an issue tonight when UC Irvine and Fresno State, devastated in their Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. openers, meet at Selland Arena for a 7:30 game.

Irvine is coming off the second worst defeat in its history, a 114-72 embarrassment at Nevada Las Vegas Saturday night. Fresno is coming off its worst home conference defeat since 1973, a 65-47 loss to Cal State Fullerton Saturday.

So they both will be playing to forget when the Bulldogs (5-7) host the Anteaters (5-5) in an arena in which Irvine has never won. Irvine is 0-10 at Selland.

Of course, all of those losses came during the Boyd Grant era, when Selland was known as Grant’s Tomb and the Bulldogs won 113 of 130 home games. Under new coach Ron Adams, Fresno is 5-2 at home.

Irvine, which has lost four of its last six games, is searching for a way to counteract the defensive schemes Scott Brooks, the Anteaters’ leading scorer, is starting to see. Saturday, Las Vegas had Mark Wade hound Brooks all night and the result was 13 shots and 14 points for Brooks.

Joe Buchanan, Irvine’s other guard, hasn’t provided much assistance. Buchanan made just 2 of 14 field-goal attempts Saturday and is shooting just 38% for the season.