Butler (23 Points) Is Big Man in UC Irvine Win

Ricky Butler lost a year of eligibility because of Proposition 48 and gained about 30 pounds in the process. He started the season as a third-string power forward, endured the fat jokes, and slowly worked his way into the starting lineup.

And Thursday night at Cal State Fullerton, the 6-foot 7-inch sophomore, who is down to 254 pounds, turned in the kind of performance that until now had only been a vision in Irvine Coach Bill Mulligan’s daydreams.

Butler tied his season-high (17 points) in the first half and hit a leaning 9-foot jumper over three defenders with 37 seconds left in the game to propel the Anteaters to a 77-73 Big West Conference victory over Fullerton in front of 3,202 in Titan Gym.

Irvine is 7-11 overall and 4-5 in conference. Fullerton dropped to 8-10 and 3-6.

“Ricky Butler killed us in the middle,” Fullerton Coach John Sneed said. “I’ve never seen him play that way before.”

Butler, who finished with a game-high 23 points and 7 rebounds, made 9 of 13 field-goal attempts, 5 of 8 free throws . . . and Mulligan smile. “Ricky’s going to be another Kevin Magee,” Mulligan said, referring to the former Irvine star who averaged 26 points a game in 2 seasons. “He’s going to be a big-time player.”

The Anteaters, who had been winning or losing (mostly losing) on their perimeter shooting, didn’t take a jump shot until almost 7 minutes had expired.

“Coach said there was a hole inside of their matchup (zone), and we weren’t supposed to shoot outside until the post had touched the ball twice,” said senior Kevin Floyd, who, for the third consecutive season had a magnificent game in Titan Gym. “We were tempted, but we jammed it in.”

The Titans switched to a man-to-man defense in the second half with a lot of help on Butler. That freed Floyd to create a bit. Floyd, who made 7 of 8 shots and all 4 of his free-throw attempts, finished with 18 points and 3 assists.

The Titans got the bulk of their offense from more-expected sources. Guard Mark Hill, who made 5 of 10 3-pointers, and forward Cedric Ceballos, who Mulligan calls the “best pro prospect in the league,” both had 22 points.

With Butler scoring 10 of Irvine’s first 18 points, the Anteaters jumped to a 9-point lead (18-9) with 12:37 to play in the first half. But the Titans rallied behind Ceballos and trailed by just 3 (37-34) at the half.

The change in defense gave Fullerton an early advantage in the second half, and the Titans got their biggest lead of the game (53-47) on a driving 6-footer and ensuing free throw by Wayne Williams with 11:49 remaining.

But the Anteaters came back to outscore Fullerton, 16-3, and never trailed again, although the game was tied twice at 66-66 and 69-69. Floyd made all 4 free throws in the final 2 1/2 minutes, including both ends of a one-plus-one with 10 seconds left to seal the victory.