Stewart Rewards UC Irvine for Waiting for Him

Keith Stewart, who has started games for Purdue and Marquette, finally played his first game for UC Irvine on Saturday and helped the Anteaters defeat Lafayette, 64-56, before 1,273 in the Bren Center.

Stewart, a guard who transferred to Irvine last winter, has twice seen his debut delayed, once because of an NCAA rules violation while he was at Marquette, and later because he had not completed academic requirements at Irvine.

But Saturday, after a steady but cautious entrance in the first half, he broke Lafayette’s zone defense with two three-pointers during a 12-0 run that helped Irvine (3-5) pull away.

Stewart finished with nine points, two rebounds and an assist in 14 minutes.

“He’s a player of a very high quality talent,” Irvine Coach Rod Baker said. “He stepped up and played. He had nine points, but they were the biggest nine points we’ve seen around here in a while.”

Irvine, which entered the game shooting 40%, has struggled on offense, and Stewart represented a glimmer of hope.

“Obviously, Keith gives us another dimension,” Baker said. “Now we have a guy with a little more range. I think he can go a full step beyond the (three-point) line effortlessly. Some guys are shooters, some guys are scorers. He’s a scorer who can shoot.”