Anteaters Are All Shook Up by Long Beach

An NBC camera crew was in UC Irvine’s Bren Center Thursday night, working on a feature about Cal State Long Beach player John Hoffman. They weren’t planning to get much game-action videotape of Hoffman, though. He has played only 46 minutes all season and has gained a lot more notoriety as an Elvis Presley impersonator than a basketball player.

As it turned out, Hoffman might still have been winded when he arrived at a Long Beach nightclub for his postgame gig. His teammates--doing their best Runnin’ Rebel impersonation--stormed past the Anteaters from the opening buzzer and romped to a 100-80 Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. victory in front of 3,277.

Hoffman, who played the last 1 1/2 minutes and even messed up his jelly-roll-and-duck-tail hairdo, pumped in a three-pointer to punctuate the 49ers’ victory. It was that kind of night for Irvine.

It was only the fourth time Irvine (9-8 overall and 4-4 in the PCAA) has lost in the Bren Center. It was by far Irvine’s worst loss in the 2-year-old facility and the worst defeat on the Irvine campus since Coach Bill Mulligan took over the program eight seasons ago.

The 49ers (11-6, 5-3) have won four in a row for the first time in six years. Their full-court pressure defense forced 10 Irvine turnovers in the first 7 1/2 minutes of the game and they shot 63% from the field on the night.

That kind of defense combined with that kind of offense almost always adds up to a victory.

“From beginning to end, that’s the most consistent game we’ve played,” Long Beach Coach Joe Harrington said after his players dumped water over his head. “We executed our offense well, which enabled us to get to our pressure defense.”

Somehow, that description just doesn’t do the 49ers’ performance justice. The Long Beach players--who were high-fiving as they left the court at halftime--probably filled the water bucket during the intermission in anticipation of the celebration to come. Long Beach led at the half, 52-35.

“Their press took us out of our game and we all completely panicked,” Mulligan said, painting a clearer verbal picture. “And that includes the coaches. I was playing guys out of position, trying to find something that worked.”

Nothing did.

“They played great and we played terrible,” he said. “That usually means a rout.”

And rout it was. The 49ers had complete control from the outset, jumping out to a 21-9 lead. Irvine was never closer than eight after that.

It’s hard to find a 49er who didn’t have a good game, but forward Andre Purry was clearly a standout. He did just about anything he wanted, scoring 23 points on 10-of-17 field-goal shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds.

“We have no one who can handle him,” Mulligan said. “We were really outmatched in terms of quickness, jumping ability and strength on the front line.”

Purry seemed more excited about his team’s defensive performance than his own offensive accomplishments, though.

“By the middle of the first half, they were starting to get real mad because of our defense,” he said, smiling.

No one in brown and gold found anything the least bit upsetting about the game.

Reserve guard Rigo Moore, who made 10 of 11 shots from the field, was 4 for 4 from three-point range and finished with a career-high 24 points. Center DeAnthony Langston had 14 points and 5 rebounds. Guard Morlon Wiley, who missed part of the second half because of a bruised left knee, finished with 12 points and 6 assists. Reserve center John Hatten scored 12 points. And that’s just the top of the list.

“They killed us,” Irvine center Wayne Engelstad said on his way to the shower. “They just killed us. . . . “

Engelstad, who scored 20 points, was left out of the offense much of the game. He inbounded the ball against the press and seldom made it all the way down court to set up underneath.

“We had open shots early, but they weren’t falling (Irvine shot 43% in the first half),” Mulligan said. “We got in a jump-shooting contest with them and obviously came in second.”

Kevin Floyd, who had just 6 first-half points, made the most of garbage time and finished with 24.

One look at the Irvine locker room and it was obvious that Hoffman wouldn’t be the only guy checking into Heartbreak Hotel on this night.