Looks Can Be Deceiving: Maryland Beats UC Irvine

Bill Mulligan and his UC Irvine team know how hard a victory can be to come by, after getting only five all last season.

That’s why the Anteaters’ 93-79 loss before 7,263 in Cole Field House at College Park, Md., Tuesday was so painful.

“It looks like a 14-point game on paper,” Mulligan said. “It wasn’t.”

Irvine (3-4) might have turned the tables on a Maryland team that had lost three games in a row. Instead, the Anteaters fell below .500 after making only 37% of their shots, and only 14 of 46 in the second half.

Even so, Irvine trailed by only 81-77 with 2:23 to play. But Maryland’s Kevin McLinton made a layup despite being fouled by Jeff Herdman. McLinton completed the three-point play with 1:44 remaining, and Maryland (3-3) made nine of 10 free throws the rest of the way.

Terrapin center Cedric Lewis had 21 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocked shots. Walt Williams, a 6-foot-8 point guard, also scored 21 points, making seven of 10 shots.

For the second game in a row, Irvine was also hurt by the slow start of senior center RickyButler.

Butler, averaging 19 points, stumbled through the first half. He finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, but had only four points at halftime. He had only three at halftime in a loss to Utah Saturday, and finished with 23.

Herdman, who scored seven points in the final five minutes against Maryland as the Anteaters cut the deficit to four, finished with 18 and had eight rebounds.

Irvine played its second game in a row without starting guard Dylan Rigdon, who was sidelined because of a hip injury.

Irvine led, 20-12, in the first half before Maryland went on an 11-0 run. Maryland led by five at halftime and pulled out to a 13-point lead with 10 minutes to play after a 15-2 run that included eight consecutive points by the Terrapins, who attempted 31 fewer shots than Irvine but made 59%.