Defenseless UC Irvine Runs Itself Ragged : Anteaters Are Off to the Races Again, but Bruins Prove Faster and Stronger

UC Irvine ran its way to a big victory over the University of New Orleans Monday, so the Anteaters came out against UCLA Thursday night with the afterburners already lit. The Anteaters ran again, but this time they couldn’t hide . . . their weaknesses, that is.

The Bruins, outrunning and outgunning UCI, missed just 12 of 38 field-goal attempts in the first half and coasted to a 116-100 victory in front of 6,735 in Pauley Pavilion.

It was the first time a UCLA opponent has scored 100 points in a game at Pauley. UCI, of course, might be the only team in Division I that can score 100 points and never be in the game.

It’s hard to find a player that doesn’t like to run and shoot at will on offense and gamble on defense, but even the UCI players are beginning to question their ability to win by shooting 20-foot jumpers and playing pressure defense against quicker teams (and a lot of teams are quicker than Irvine).

“We’re in their face on defense and they beat us to the basket,” said UCI forward Wayne Engelstad, who had a game-high 26 points. “And they weren’t in our faces outside, so we just shoot.

“We’re a good shooting team, but we don’t seem to know that a spurt is just that . . . a short stretch of time. We keep thinking our spurts will last forever and we don’t know when to slow down and work for a good shot.”

Most of the Bruins’ shots were of the very-high-percentage variety. They dominated the boards, outrebounding UCI, 43-31, and a wealth of layups and easy follow shots helped them shoot 65% from the floor.

Irvine cut the UCLA lead to 10 (98-88) with 4:03 remaining, but a couple of high-speed turnovers on out-of-control drives and a pair of UCI fouls later, the Bruins were back in total control.

“They had a whole lot of easy shots in the first half and they outphysicaled us like crazy all night,” UCI Coach Bill Mulligan said. “We have too many nice guys and not enough bad guys.

“We have three guys who are supposed to go to the offensive boards, but they didn’t and they didn’t get back, either. They were in Nothing Land. It was really nasty at halftime.”

The Anteaters responded to Mulligan’s mid-game tirade by mustering a small surge after the intermission, closing to within 11 in the first five minutes of the second half after trailing, 65-47, at the half. But after that, it was the UCI players, not the Bruins, who were running on empty.

“We don’t seem to be in as good a shape as I thought,” Mulligan said. “Everybody was tired.”

Even when they’re not out of breath, the Anteaters seem to be tiring of scoring 90 to 100 points and losing big.

“We know we can run with anyone but we’re getting too caught up in our running game,” said junior Kevin Floyd, who scored 15 points. “We’re not playing any defense. I mean, you can’t give up 65 points in a half and expect to win the game.

“And we don’t have any discipline. Sometimes, it’s smart to slow it up once in a while.”

The only time the Anteaters appear to do anything slowly, is when they are chasing one of their opponents as he drives around them to the basket.

“I don’t know how many layups they got, but we didn’t play any defense tonight,” Engelstad said. “Our defensive rotation was horrible, we lost vision of the ball . . . it was a complete breakdown at times. I don’t know where some guys’ heads were at tonight, but they weren’t in Pauley.”

Their heads may not be the problem. Their legs, however, may not be well-suited for Mulligan’s supersonic brand of basketball.