Irvine Works Overtime for 95-92 Victory

An ailing UC Irvine basketball team limped into Thursday night’s game against University of the Pacific hoping to find the panacea for all Big West Conference teams: Take a win from the Tigers and go to bed.

The Anteaters were playing without Jeff Herdman--the nation’s leading three-point shooter who has the flu--and also had their top rebounder and No. 2 scorer, center Mike Doktorczyk, limping with a severe thigh bruise.

Irvine, 10-12 overall and 7-6 in the Big West, scored a 95-92 overtime victory over Pacific (5-17, 1-12) at the Spanos Center. It was the Tigers’ third consecutive overtime loss at home.

The Anteaters managed to finally pull away from the tenacious Tigers and led by 10 (75-65) with 5:33 left in regulation. But Pacific outscored Irvine, 16-2, to take a 81-77 lead with 1:25 left.

Doktorczyk, who scored 26 points, hit a three-pointer with 1:13 left to cut the Pacific lead to one. After an Irvine turnover--when guard Kevin Floyd slipped to the floor--Pacific’s Reggie Ricks hit a pair of free throws to give the Tigers an 83-80 advantage with 20 seconds left.

Floyd, who scored 25, then hit a three-pointer with eight seconds left to send the game into overtime.