Uninspired Anteaters Fall : Basketball: After two big victories, Irvine loses to Cal State Northridge, 68-66.

Riding a wave of emotion during victories over Iowa and Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine staggered and crashed to an uninspired defeat while attempting to make it three in a row Saturday night. The Anteaters lost, 68-66, to Cal State Northridge (3-10) in front of 2,167 in the Bren Center.

It was a game that started ugly--it was 2-1 after the first 4 1/2 minutes--and finished even uglier. Irvine had a chance to send the game into overtime in the final second when Joe Hannon, starting in place of injured center DeForrest Boyer, rebounded a miss by Zuri Williams and instead of dumping it in the basket, turned and threw a pass out to the perimeter as the buzzer sounded.

“I thought we were down by three instead of two,” Hannon said.

Actually, as Matador Coach Pete Cassidy was quick to point out, it was hard to lay the blame solely on Hannon. And Irvine Coach Rod Baker said he wasn’t sure if “it was a case of both teams wanting it too badly or neither team wanting it at all.”

Both teams took turns during a stretch-time slop-fest that degenerated into an almost humorous exchange of you-take-it-no-you-take-it basketball. During a two-minute stretch between 3:17 remaining and 1:22, the Anteaters and Matadors combined to turn over the ball on five consecutive possessions.

Northridge took a 68-64 lead with 19.6 seconds left when Andre Chevalier made two free throws. Khalid Channell, the only Anteater in double figures (16 points), put in a follow shot to cut the deficit to two points. Then Brooklyn McLinn, who led Northridge with 18 points, missed two free throws with eight seconds remaining, giving the Anteaters an opening.

Williams, who was playing in his first game after a two-game suspension because of a shoplifting citation, was also playing in his 40th minute at point guard when he drove the length of the floor and missed a flying layup. Point guard Lloyd Mumford, who is nursing an ankle sprain, was watching from the bench in his street clothes.

Hannon grabbed the rebound and had a clear path for an easy dunk or layup, but spun and threw away the game.

“We called timeout (before McLinn’s free throws) and went over what we wanted to do if we were two points or three points or four points down,” Baker said, “but sometimes in the heat of the moment, you don’t always do the right thing.

“I don’t think Joe will make that same mistake again, though.”

With Williams and guard Todd Whitehead suspended, the Anteaters had pulled together to pull off the two victories. Baker, who had said earlier in the week the pair would also miss Saturday night’s game, changed his mind, although he said the injuries to Mumford and Boyer were not the deciding factor.

In any case--if they can stay on the right side of the law and outside the training room--it seems the Anteaters are on the verge of developing into a pretty decent team. Somebody always seems ready to pick up the slack, even though Irvine couldn’t make it a sweep of Northridge. They beat the Matadors, 93-82, on Dec. 11.

Northridge, which snapped a 12-game road losing streak, led by six (50-44) midway through the second half when Channell, a junior forward, took charge. He scored 11 of his points in the final 9:54 and when he made one of two free throws with 3:39 left, the Matadors led by a point, 64-63.

That’s when both sides lapsed into turnover mode.

Chevalier threw a pass out of bounds. Irvine’s Mark Odsather forced a pass inside that never made it to a teammate. Channell blocked a weak layup attempt by McLinn and then Whitehead dribbled the ball off his foot and out of bounds. Northridge’s Peter Micelli was called for traveling. And so it went.

“I guess they caught some breaks and we didn’t, but that’s a good team,” Baker said. “But when you go four of 20 on three-pointers, shoot that (.426) from the field and only 52% from the line, you ain’t gonna beat anybody.”

Junior Chris Brown, who was 12 of 25 from three-point range and scored 44 points in the last two games, made only two of nine three-point attempts.

“I put it on with Brown,” said McLinn, assessing his defensive prowess. “I ate him alive. I was oblivious to the ball, I just stayed on him all night.”

It was an all-around deflating night for the Anteaters, who tumbled rudely out of the comfort zone they had found in the past nine days.

“This brings you back to earth, but that’s fine,” Baker said. “That’s fine. Of course I’m reaching, reaching real bad.”