Las Vegas Beats UC Irvine, 100-85 : Rebels Overpower Weak Anteaters in Big West Opener

Jerry Tarkanian, who on his best days looks as if he has just lost a Supreme Court case, slouched in a chair Thursday night, rubbed his beagle eyes and summed up Nevada Las Vegas’ 100-85 victory over UC Irvine.

“I didn’t think it was a very good game but it was a win, and I haven’t won anything in awhile,” said the UNLV coach, whose 12-year legal battle with the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. ended this week when the Supreme Court decided that the NCAA was within its powers to order his suspension.

“We’ve had a lot of distractions this week, and I know I wasn’t in the game the way I should have been. I think a team reflects the personality of its coach, and we weren’t mentally or emotionally in this game.”

Good thing for Irvine. The Anteaters (2-5) came into this game--the Big West Conference opener for both teams--trying to avoid humiliation as much as defeat, but after the first 3 minutes, it looked as if they were going to lose the game, too.

The 17,453 fans in the Thomas and Mack Center had barely settled into their seats before the Rebels (3-2) were ahead, 10-0. But Las Vegas, despite obviously superior talent, missed at least two dozen layups or close follow shots, made 19 of 38 free throws, sent the Anteaters to the free-throw line 44 times and generally sleep-walked their way to the victory.

“We got the ball in low . . . we didn’t score when we got it down there, but at least we got it there,” Tarkanian said.

UNLV’s post players--George Ackles and David Butler (who are both 6 feet 10 inches) and 6-7 Moses Scurry--made a combined 18 of 37 shots from the field and all of those were either dunks, layups or short jumpers.

“We didn’t rebound well, but you have to be in the game to rebound,” Tarkanian said. “And our defense wasn’t any good because you have to be in the game emotionally to play defense.”

Don’t repeat that to the Anteaters. They had 29 turnovers times against the Rebels’ press and pressure man-to-man defense. It was more than 2 minutes into the game before Irvine got a field-goal attempt.

And Irvine’s leading scorer, guard Rod Palmer, had about half of his shots blocked or slightly deflected. Palmer was 3 of 17 from the floor. Only Kevin Floyd, who hit 9 of 18 from the field and 11 of 12 free throws to finish with a career-high 29 points, was effective for Irvine. Forward Mike Labat (12 points) was the only other Anteater in double figures.

The Rebels, whose losses this season were to teams (Arizona and Oklahoma) that had advanced to the Final Four last spring, had six players with 10 or more points.

Butler led the way with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Guard Anderson Hunt scored 16 points and had 7 assists. Scurry had 15 points and 8 rebounds. Guard Greg Anthony had 14 points, 6 assists and 5 steals. Ackles scored 12, and had 6 rebounds and 6 blocks. And Stacey Augmon added 10 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

And everyone kept talking about how horribly they played.

“I think Tark had trouble getting his guys up for us after having seen us play,” Irvine Coach Bill Mulligan said. “They’re quicker than we are. They’re taller than we are. And we weren’t able to run our offense.

“You come in here and you better be able to handle their pressure . . . .and be ready to get in a football game.”