Streak Ends in Irvine’s 86-79 Loss to Utah State

Utah State ended UC Irvine’s improbable run at the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. tournament title and the automatic National Collegiate Athletic Assn. berth that goes with it by scoring an 86-79 victory Saturday before a crowd of 7,994 at the Forum.

Had Irvine won, the Anteaters (16-14) would have played in the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.

“We fell one step short--one step short,” said Wayne Engelstad, who scored 27 points and was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

If nothing else, the loss meant that Engelstad can keep his full head of hair. Engelstad had promised after the Anteaters’ upset of Cal State Long Beach in the quarterfinals to shave his head--as several teammates already had--should Irvine make it to the final.

It hadn’t seemed a likely prospect, but then Irvine pulled its stunning upset of seventh-ranked Nevada Las Vegas in the semifinals, jumping to a 20-5 lead and denying the Rebels a spot in the final for the first time in the six years Las Vegas has been in the conference. Engelstad then reneged on his vow, promising instead a flat-top for the final and a shaven head in the NCAA tournament.

But when Saturday’s final came 17 hours later, he still had all his hair. Now, to his dismay, the calls for a trim of any sort are past.

Irvine seemed in control for much of this game, taking a seven-point halftime lead. But in the second half, Utah State opened up its inside game, and Irvine’s dominance came to an end.

“I’d like to say we were worn out, but Utah State played even later than we did (Friday night),” Irvine Coach Bill Mulligan said.

For the Aggies (21-9), the victory has a particular emotional value. Rod Tueller, the Utah State coach and athletic director, announced during the season that this would be his last as coach.

“It’s a big thrill for us, particularly for me,” Tueller said. “This is the swan song for me on the basketball court. I think down in the hearts of these young men they’ve been pulling for me.”

Kevin Nixon (19 points) led four Aggie players with more than 15 points. Dan Conway (18), Greg Housekeeper (17) and Reid Newey (16) were the others.

The Aggies have played in the NCAA tournament nine times, most recently in 1983, when they lost to Iowa in the first round.

Utah State pulled ahead for good midway through the second half. Nixon’s full-court drive ended in a layup and a foul, and the three-point play gave the Aggies a 60-59 lead. Then Jeff Anderson made a back-door cut and scored, making it 62-59. Utah State led by as many as seven and held on.

Engelstad, in particular, seemed to tire in the second half. After scoring 19 points in the first half--including three of Irvine’s seven three-pointers, he scored only 8 points in the second half. He shot 50% in the first half but finished 11 of 30, including 3 of 12 three-pointers.

The Anteaters shot just 41% as a team, making 29 of 71 shots.

Mulligan: “It’s pretty hard to do much when you shoot that way.”

Irvine beat UNLV the night before despite shooting only 42%, but the Rebels helped the Irvine cause by shooting only 44%.

Utah State shot 54%, including 59% in the second half.

Utah State also made an adjustment on Engelstad.

“The only adjustment we made on him was everybody guarded their own man and also guarded Engelstad,” Conway said. “It took all five of us to hold him down a little bit in the second half.”

Engelstad scored 88 points in the three tournament games.

Mike Hess added 15 points against Utah State and also made the all-tournament team. Utah State’s prospects of earning an NCAA berth before this victory were uncertain. The Aggies were 18-9 in the regular season, and, although they finished second in the conference, they lost to UNLV twice.

The team that inherits the uncertain position is UC Santa Barbara, which lost to Utah State in a semifinal. But Santa Barbara finished 22-7 and beat UNLV twice and N.C. State once. Should Santa Barbara get a berth when the NCAA announces its tournament field today, the PCAA would have three teams in the tournament, more than ever before.