Upset-Minded UC Irvine Comes Up Short : Basketball: Anteaters’ midnight practice isn’t enough to carry them to victory over Trojans, who hang on for 80-71 victory.

UC Irvine, sensing the possibility of an upset against USC, held a midnight practice in the Bren Center after its loss to Houston Friday night.

The opportunity was there--Irvine made it a game--but the Trojans fought off a persistent challenge for an 80-71 victory Saturday in the second game of a doubleheader in the Disneyland Freedom Bowl Classic at the Bren Center.

USC trailed by one as late as 8:31 from the final buzzer, but Irvine (1-3) couldn’t get closer than five in the final minutes.

Harold Miner scored 28 points for USC, making seven of 19 field goal attempts and 11 of 12 free throws. David Hollaway and Elgin Rogers scored 19 for Irvine.

Irvine, trailing by six at halftime, came out at the start of the second half and made it a game. Rogers scored six consecutive points for Irvine that were answered only by a basket by Duane Cooper, who finished with 16 points.

Irvine’s Gerald McDonald got a five-second call against Cooper, and then, with Cooper guarding Jeff Von Lutzow in a mismatch in the lane, Irvine tied the score, 49-49, on Von Lutzow’s easy turnaround over the shorter player.

Von Lutzow gave Irvine the lead just after the 16-minute mark, but Miner quickly tied it again.

“We fooled (our players) into thinking they belonged in this game,” Irvine Coach Rod Baker said. “They understand what they did was a pretty good thing. We can’t be content with being close. We can only be content with winning.”

USC (6-1) pulled ahead by four, only to see Irvine take the lead again when Hollaway, who sparked an Irvine rally in the first half, came off the bench to hit a shot from the lane and another three-pointer. After two free throws by Hollaway--USC’s Lorenzo Orr picked up his fourth foul on a Hollaway drive--Irvine led, 60-59, with 8:31 to play.

USC wasn’t ready to be upset, though.

The Trojans went on a 11-0 run punctuated by three-pointers by Cooper and Dwayne Hackett to take a 70-60 lead with six minutes left. That lead was still nine points with four minutes left, after Miner hit a three-pointer that made it 73-64.

“Whenever times get tough, I look to take over,” Miner said. “I don’t want to freeze anybody out, but I’m going to be more aggressive driving and on offensive rebounds.”

Irvine still hung around, cutting USC’s lead to six, 77-71, with 1:07 remaining when Von Lutzow hit a three-pointer. The Anteaters got a chance to close the gap when USC turned the ball over on its inbounds play, but Gerald McDonald missed a three-point attempt, and Cooper made three of four free throws down the stretch.

USC took an early lead of 17-8 as Yamen Sanders took advantage of Irvine’s interior defense, which was weakened by the absence of 6-foot-6 forward Elgin Rogers, whose size and speed were needed to guard Miner on the perimeter.

Sanders was averaging only eight points, and hadn’t scored in two of USC’s six games, but in the first 10 minutes against Irvine, he had 10 points.

Miner, guarded mostly by Rogers and Khari Johnson, another 6-6 forward, made only three of 11 shots from the field in the half, but was fouled often and finished the first 20 minutes with 17 points. He made nine of 10 free throws and two three-pointers.

USC led by 10 points, 38-28, with five minutes left in the half, but Hollaway came off the Irvine bench to score 10 consecutive points for the Anteaters, sparking a run that cut USC’s lead to two with 1:39 left.

Hollaway hit a three-pointer with about four minutes left in the half, cutting USC’s lead to 40-34, then followed it by pulling up on a drive for a 12-foot jumper. USC added a free throw, but then freshman Zuri Williams zipped a pass from the top of the key to Hollaway, who was open underneath for a layup that trimmed the lead to 41-38.

Miner hit two free throws to make it 43-38, but Hollaway hit another three-pointer, cutting USC’s lead to two.

The Trojans led at the half, 47-41, after Tim Vanitvelt scooped up a loose ball after two USC misses and put it back in, and then Miner made a steal, with Tremayne Anchrum hitting two free throws.

Irvine was outrebounded, 23-16, in the half, but stayed close by shooting 56% in the first half, far above its 38.5% average.

In the first game:

Houston 80, Kent 56--Craig Upchurch, a Cougar forward, scored 22 points in only 27 minutes, making nine of 11 shots from the field. Houston (5-1) took a 45-25 lead at halftime. Sam Mack, Houston’s leading scorer, had eight points, well below his 23.8-point average, but made all four shots he tried. Kent (2-2) was led by Mike Klinzing’s 18 points and Tony Banks’ 17.

Anteater Notes

Keith Greeley, a junior center for USC, quit the team Saturday because he was disappointed with his role, Coach George Raveling said. . . . With three three-pointers Saturday, Harold Miner now holds the USC career record for three pointers with 134. . . . In the only previous meeting between USC and UC Irvine, Irvine took a 78-66 victory at the Sports Arena on Dec. 13, 1983. Ben McDonald led Irvine with 18 points and Wayne Carlander led USC with 20. . . . Next for USC: Ohio State in the Sports Arena at 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 21. . . . Next for UC Irvine: Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 16.