Cal Proves Perfect Tonic for Anteaters : UC Irvine: Herdman’s 23 points fuel 98-88 victory over the Golden Bears.

One team went to the NCAA tournament last season.

The other team went 5-23, and had lost its previous four games this season by an average of 19 points.

But UC Irvine, not California, celebrated a 98-88 victory Saturday in the Bren Center.

Blown out by 30 points against Stanford Wednesday, Irvine regrouped. Coach Bill Mulligan took some of the gamble out of a press that had led to layup after layup for Stanford, and Irvine uncovered a shooting touch that lit up the scoreboard.

Jeff Herdman led the way, scoring 23 points, making eight of nine shots and seven of eight three-pointers. Dylan Rigdon added 21, 13 of them on free throws he earned by driving the lane, and Ricky Butler added 21 points inside, helping open up the outside.

Irvine (4-6) shot 53% from the field and 57% from three-point range, making 13 of 23.

Brian Hendrick led Cal with 21 points and Ryan Drew added 19.

After trailing since the early minutes of the game, Cal tied the score, 88-88, on a three-pointer by Ryan Drew with 2:21 left.

But the comeback quickly ended. Herdman came up with a steal on Cal’s next possession, and Gerald McDonald came away with a lose ball on the next. Cal missed all its shots the rest of the way, and Irvine made enough free throws.

Cal entered the game with a 3-2 record. The losses were to Houston by 17 points and to Purdue by one point.

Irvine’s 45-37 halftime lead marked the first time all season the Anteaters had been ahead after the first half. In two of their three victories, they had been behind at halftime, and the score was tied in the other.

The Anteaters went ahead by 11 points early, taking advantage of a 6:09 stretch during which Cal did not score. Irvine went from trailing at 4-0 to leading at 15-4.