UC Irvine Is Handed Big Defeat : Basketball: Kelly gets 16 assists to set UC Santa Barbara career record in 85-67 victory. Anteaters commit 23 turnovers.

UC Santa Barbara’s Ray Kelly kept driving and passing against UC Irvine on Monday night.

He drove by Lloyd Mumford and kicked the ball to the open man. He pushed the ball upcourt quickly against an Irvine defense that didn’t always get back, flicking the ball to teammates for dunks. He even grabbed six rebounds.

But if Kelly had been trying to notch an assist to match every Irvine turnover during the Anteaters’ 85-67 loss to the Gauchos in the Events Center, he couldn’t have done it.

Kelly only had a career-high 16 assists.

Irvine had 23 turnovers.

By halftime, the tone was set. Kelly had nine assists, Irvine had 14 turnovers and the Gauchos led, 45-30.

Kelly entered the game needing 16 assists to break Carlton Davenport’s school career record of 444. It seemed like a tall order, but he only needed 28 minutes before wrapping it up with 3 minutes 40 seconds to play when Kyle Milling dunked off his fast-break pass.

Irvine’s fate was long since decided. If there were any likelihood the Anteaters were coming back from 15 points down at halftime--it has happened before this season--Irvine Coach Rod Baker helped lessen it by benching three starters at the start of the second half.

When the clock started, Irvine’s leading scorer, Jeff Von Lutzow, sat on the bench. So did second-leading scorer Keith Stewart. So did third-leading scorer Mumford.

Baker let three starters watch the first 6:08 of the second half from the bench, sending a lineup onto the court that was averaging a total of 19.3 points per game.

“I think we weren’t always on the same page as a group,” Baker said of his starters.

Soon, they were on the same bench. Mumford paid for his helter-skelter offense and lax defense.

“I thought he went on his own a few times too many, and he didn’t control anybody on defense,” Baker said.

Stewart “just wasn’t successful,” he said. And Von Lutzow, despite 11 first-half points and game-highs of 22 points and 13 rebounds, didn’t pass muster either, largely on defense.

“Mentally, he was all over the place,” Baker said.

Baker went with the substitutes past the first timeout, and past the first five minutes. But Shaun Battle, Dee Boyer, Todd Whitehead, Zuri Williams and Elzie Love, game as they were, weren’t going to lead any offensive charge. Baker said even so, he was trying to win the game.

“With 20 minutes left in the game, I’m not trying to make a point, I’m trying to win a basketball game,” he said. “The only point I’m trying to make is let’s win a basketball game.”

The starters weren’t quick in returning, even after the lead grew to 23.

“The guys that started the second half got tired, that’s why I put the others back in,” Baker said.

The Anteaters (5-13, 3-8) backslid after having won three of their last five games. In addition to the 23 turnovers, Irvine shot 34.9% from the field. The Anteaters made only 19 of 37 from the line.

Santa Barbara (12-8, 7-8) shot 58.9% and was led by 15 points from Milling, a freshman whose brother Chad plays volleyball at Irvine.

“Santa Barbara was really committed to going up and down the floor,” Baker said. “They had something on their minds. If in fact we were in a bad way, they helped make it that way.”

Santa Barbara’s lead was only 17-14 in the first half before a 15-4 run fueled by repeated Irvine turnovers, fouls and poor shots.

The subs who took over at the start of the second half, trailing 45-30, fell behind by as many as 23, but gave the game back to the regulars having lost only four points. The starters took over with 13:52 remaining, trailing, 57-38. They got no closer than 14 points afterward.

Baker said he was exasperated with his benched starters, but he wasn’t vicious afterward. And none of the three said they didn’t deserve it.

“It was for the team, to put five other guys on the court and get a different look,” Mumford said. “They played hard.”

Said Stewart: “I can’t question anything like that. It’s his decision. It gives you time to sit and think about it.”

Von Lutzow said he just “hurt.”

“We let one we needed get away,” he said.

Big West Standings

Conference All Games W L W L Pct New Mexico State 10 2 18 5 .783 Nevada Las Vegas 9 2 16 3 .842 CS Long Beach 8 5 16 6 .727 Pacific 8 5 12 9 .571 CS Fullerton 7 5 12 8 .600 UC Santa Barbara 6 7 13 8 .619 Utah State 6 7 9 12 .429 San Jose State 3 8 6 13 .316 UC Irvine 3 9 5 14 .263 Nevada 2 12 7 14 .333

MONDAY’S RESULTS

UC Santa Barbara 85, UC Irvine 67

Pacific 81, Nevada 69