UCI Comes Close, but Succumbs to Pacific

A victory for UC Irvine was dangling there, closer than at any time in recent weeks, against the University of the Pacific Saturday night.

A Bren Center crowd of 1,823 sensed a victory was close at hand. The Anteaters seemed to sense it too. Even Pacific appeared worried it would be the team that lost to Irvine.

In the end, Irvine blew a 14-point lead that it had built in the first half, missed two shots in the final five seconds and lost, 76-75.

Irvine, losers of 12 consecutive games but playing as well as it has all season, trailed Pacific by a point. Five seconds remained as the Anteaters inbounded the ball at midcourt following a timeout.

The Anteaters’ Dylan Rigdon, who had made six of 10 shots from the field, including five of eight three-pointers, took the pass and dribbled toward the basket. Rigdon, a freshman guard, pulled up 10 feet from the basket and launched an awkward-looking jump shot with the Tigers’ Dell Demps hounding him and three seconds left.

The ball clanged off the back of the rim and into the hands of Jeff Von Lutzow, whose hurried follow hit the side of the backboard at the buzzer.

And Irvine (2-18 overall, 0-11 in the Big West Conference) had lost its 13th consecutive game.

“I think I should have taken it to the hole instead of pulling up,” Rigdon said. “I was counting in my head. I had a good idea (how much time was left).”

The play was designed to go to Rod Palmer, Rigdon said, “but they took it away, so I cut to the ball.

“I’m sure I’ll be thinking about this for days, weeks, months.”

Rigdon had a career-high 22 points as Irvine seemed primed for its first victory since a 75-62 triumph over San Diego State Dec. 16.

The Anteaters built a season-high 14-point lead, 30-16, after a dunk by Von Lutzow with 5:10 left in the first half.

But Pacific (12-8, 5-6) chipped away and trailed at halftime, 35-33.

The lead changed hands in the second half with Pacific taking the lead for good, 68-67, on Demps’ three-pointer with 3:36 left.

Later, Irvine cut the lead to 76-75 on a three-pointer by Rigdon with 11 seconds left. The Anteaters then fouled Anthony Woods, who missed a one-and-one, setting up Rigdon’s unsuccessful shot.

“We stole that game,” said Demps, who had 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field. “They (the Anteaters) were winning practically the whole game. They played well enough to win.”

Irvine Coach Bill Mulligan has grown weary of that familiar refrain.

“That’s nine of 11 (Big West) games we should have won,” he said. “It’s the same old B.S. Nobody wants to hear that . . . “

Then, picking up steam, he said, “It’s like, ‘How are we gonna lose this one?’

“They blow the one-and-one. I thought we got a pretty good shot and everybody in the arena thought Rigdon got fouled. Notice I didn’t say I thought he was fouled.”

The last-second play was executed well enough, Mulligan said.

“The ball ended up with a guy who’s a big-time free throw shooter and who makes three-point shots in games.”

Three other Anteaters scored in double figures. Palmer added 17 points, Von Lutzow 14 and Ricky Butler 11.

Pacific’s Don Lyttle had 19 points and Daryl Wolfe added 16.

Anteater Notes

This date in Anteater history or where have all the good times gone? A year ago, playing before a sellout crowd of 5,000 at the Bren Center, Irvine rallied from nine points to beat Nevada Las Vegas, 99-98. Ricky Butler had a then career-high 25 points, hitting 17 of 19 free throws. Jeff Herdman added 24 points as the Anteaters shot 76% from the field in the second half, 56% for the game. The Anteaters also made 36 of 43 (84%) from the line. The victory gave Irvine an 8-12 record on the way to a 12-17 finish.

If the season ended today, Irvine and Pacific would play in the opening round of the Big West tournament March 7.