UC Irvine Blows 12-Point Lead in First Half, Falls to Utah State

A new year, same old UC Irvine.

The Anteaters, at their inconsistent best, dropped their Big West Conference opener against Utah State, 80-70, Tuesday night at the Bren Center.

This time, Irvine blew a 12-point first-half lead, shot its usual load of bricks and turned the ball over 12 times in the second half.

Irvine (2-8) shot just 39% from the field and wasn’t much better at the free-throw line, shooting 55.6%. The Anteaters also hit their average for turnovers, committing 17.

Despite all this, Irvine Coach Bill Mulligan said he was encouraged by the Anteaters’ play.

“I think we’ve come along,” Mulligan said. “I’m not discouraged. I saw a lot of good things out there.”

One good sign was that the Anteaters didn’t give up, even after Utah State (7-5, 1-0 in the Big West) built a 15-point lead in the second half.

The Anteaters trailed, 52-37, after Allan Gordon hit an off-balance 18-foot jumper 4:31 into the second half.

But Irvine steadily chipped away at the Aggies’ lead, finally cutting it to 57-52 on a jumper by Ben Rishwain, playing his first game since breaking a finger a month ago, with 10:40 left.

Utah State beat back the threat and every one thereafter.

Irvine made one last run at the Aggies, cutting the lead to 71-68 with 1:06 left.

Utah State’s Jeff Parris made two free throws, but Rishwain made a jumper from just inside the three-point line to set up the biggest play of the game.

The Aggies’ Albert Chappell, fouled with 38 seconds left, missed the front end of a one-and-one but Utah State Randy Funk grabbed the long rebound.

“We were down three and they missed the free throw--and they didn’t miss many--and we didn’t pinch (and block out Funk),” Mulligan said.

The Anteaters then fouled Kendall Youngblood, who made two free throws for a secure, 75-70, lead.

Youngblood had a game-high 20 points, including 12 in the first half, that helped rally Utah State from a 12-point deficit. Funk added 15 and Darrel White had 11 off the bench for the Aggies.

Ricky Butler scored 18 and Rod Palmer had 13 for Irvine, which lost its third consecutive game.

Palmer, who is recovering from a sprained knee suffered Dec. 2, also had seven assists in his second game since returning to the starting lineup.

“I’m confident we’ll be there,” Palmer said. “We’ll keep on working on what we lack. Hopefully, things will fall into place.”

The most notable problem Irvine faces is its poor shooting. Only once this season have the Anteaters shot better than 50%. Not surprisingly, it was in a 85-79 victory over Bucknell Dec. 1.

“It’s the same old story,” Mulligan said.

Utah State shot only 44.4% from the field, but was 24 of 31 (77.4%) from the line.

“(Thankfully), we made some free throws at the end,” Utah State Coach Kohn Smith said.

In the first half, Irvine was cruising along with a 12-point lead, 24-12, with 10:58 left, but the momentum changed in a flash. After Palmer flew down the key to grab a rebound and drop in a three-footer, Utah State began to take control.

Youngblood, held scoreless until then, made a short jumper.

Jeff Von Lutzow’s one-handed jam at the other end kept Irvine ahead by 10, but not for long.

But then Utah State bolted into the lead in dizzying fashion.

Funk scored, Youngblood made two free throws, Sean Lake swept in for a fast-break layup and Youngblood hit another jumper to bring the Aggies to within 28-26. Rich Jardine then tied it, 28-28, with a reverse jam after a no-look pass from Gordon.

“We got back on top of things by halftime,” Smith said. “I thought that was key. I just wanted to be close.”

Utah State pushed the lead to 44-32 as Irvine came unraveled in the final seven minutes of the half.

Even a three-pointer by Palmer just before halftime couldn’t pick up the Anteaters. They headed to the locker room, heads hanging, trailing, 44-35.

“The first half we started good, but they kicked us big-time on the missed shot break,” Mulligan said. “They destroyed us on the break.”

Things got better in the second half, but the net result had a familiar ring to it.

Still, the Anteaters say they aren’t resigning themselves to a lost season.

“We’re not going to give up,” Palmer said. “Don’t look for us to give up.”

Anteater Notes

Jeff Herdman, a junior forward who had started every game until Tuesday night, was benched at the start by Coach Bill Mulligan for inconsistent play. He was 12 of 41 from the field (29.3%) in his past three games coming into the game. He was three of seven for eight points in 21 minutes against Utah State. . . . The loss was Irvine’s fifth in a row against Utah State. . . . Irvine plays San Jose State, coached by Stan Morrison, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Bren Center.