END OF THE LINE : UC Irvine’s Change of Pace Leaves Anteaters a Step Away

In the beginning, when they were young and on the run, they were sure they could be successful and have fun at the same time.

College basketball’s answer to flower children, the UC Irvine Anteaters were going to provide a good time for all. This band of good-natured veterans and polite freshmen would win and still manage to leave ‘em smiling.

At least that was the idea.

As it turned out, the 1987-88 Anteaters were up and down emotionally as much as they were up and down the court. They celebrated through two three-game winning streaks and suffered through a pair of three-game losing streaks. They won four of their first six conference games, but lost the last three.

By season’s end, most of those fresh young faces were providing little more than moral support. Freshman Chris Cresswell and sophomore Steve Florentine had been suspended from the team. And the veterans were almost too tired to smile.

The Anteaters finished the season with a 16-14 overall record and a 9-9 mark in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. Their conference record was good for fifth place, well above the second-to-last finish predicted by conference coaches.

And the last three days of their season was a fittingly tumultuous climax for the roller coaster ride season.

Irvine got the last word in a bad-blood battle with Cal State Long Beach, beating the 49ers in the opening round of the PCAA tournament. It was the Anteaters’ first opening-round victory in four years.

Then, they hit the highest of highs, beating seventh-ranked Nevada Las Vegas in the semifinals. Considering the stakes, it was the biggest victory in school history.

A first-ever appearance in the NCAA playoffs was just a victory over Utah State away. The Anteaters led at halftime, 43-36, but they ran out of gas in the second half as the Aggies pulled out an 86-79 victory.

“Two years ago, I was named PCAA coach of the year,” Irvine Coach Bill Mulligan said. “I think I did a much better job this year. We just didn’t have as many good players.”

Still, Irvine failed to meet Mulligan’s great expectations. Bill Mulligan has this dream, you see. When he goes to sleep, runners and gunners dance in his head.

This season, however, he realized that he didn’t have the players who could succeed with a pressure defense and a fast-break offense.

It took Mulligan a while to come to that revelation, though.

“Bill counted too much on the freshmen,” said Andy Andreas, an assistant who quit in midseason. “It’s easy for a coach to talk himself into thinking his freshmen will come in and make a big impact.”

--Irvine’s Bren Center, Nov. 28: The Anteaters win the championship of the Freedom Bowl tournament with an 86-83 victory over Manhattan. Mulligan unleashes an expletive-filled tirade at a writer who had pointed out that Irvine gave up 17 layups in the previous night’s 90-68 victory over Army. “We win by 22 and you rip our defense?” Mulligan screams.

--UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion, Dec. 17: The Anteaters score 100 points--and lose by 17--to the Bruins. Mulligan tells the media that his team refuses to play a deliberate offense and Irvine will continue to play fast and loose because “it’s entertaining.”

--Bradley’s Carver Arena, Dec. 19. After a 139-119 loss to the Braves, Mulligan says, “We may not have the players to play this style, but we’re going to keep doing it because it’s fun.” Hersey Hawkins (51 points) and Co. sure had a good time, anyway.

The Anteaters had almost three weeks off between the Bradley game and the PCAA opener against UC Santa Barbara. Mulligan had a lot of time to think about whether it was more fun to win or more fun to have fun.

Let’s see, he had his best player, 6-foot 8-inch senior center Wayne Engelstad, inbounding the ball after opponents scored. They were scoring a lot and too often Engelstad hadn’t reached half court before a teammate had terminated the offense.

And, while the not-so-quick Anteaters were creating some turnovers with their get-in-their-face defense, they were also getting beaten to the hoop with regularity.

Reluctantly, Mulligan adopted a more patient, half-court offense.

“The turning point in the season was the Bradley game,” Mulligan said. “We decided to live or die with Wayne after that.”

The Anteaters lost only to Santa Barbara and Las Vegas in their first six conference games. Engelstad averaged 27 points in the four victories.

The starters--seniors Engelstad, Frank Woods and Mike Hess, junior Kevin Floyd and sophomore Mike Labat--began to get more playing time.

And, as the bench--particularly junior center Ed Johansen and freshmen Jeff Herdman and Florentine--became less of a factor, fatigue became more of a factor. Engelstad made 7 of 14 shots in the first half of the tournament championship game. He finished 11 of 30.

“We were one step away,” he said after the game. “One step away.”

It ended on a low, but this was a season chock full of highs and the lasting memories will be mostly fond:

--Of Engelstad, the man/boy with the teddy bear build and the tough mind, not to forget the great first step and the incredibly soft shot.

--Of overachiever Hess, a 6-1 guard without a lot of pure athletic talent but a surplus of desire and smarts, frustrating future NBA draft picks with his anticipation and quick hands.

--Of Woods, the silent 6-5 forward who lived in the post with players towering above him but never giving an inch.

--Of Floyd, the marvelous athlete who showed flashes of brilliance when he wasn’t driving Mulligan crazy.

--And, of course, of sophomore defensive specialist Labat, pure shooter Justin Anderson (who made the PCAA all-freshman team) and Herdman, who was intimidated by no one underneath and just as confident with his outside jumper.

“We’ve never worked this long or this hard in a season,” Mulligan said of his coaching staff.

There was a measure of satisfaction, but, in the end, they were just one step away.