Anteaters Come Through in Clutch : College basketball: They make a free throw, block a shot late in 73-70 victory over San Diego

UC Irvine is a long way from wowing Dick Vitale, but the Anteaters are learning how to win.

Like a toddler taking his first tentative steps, Irvine was alternately swaggering and staggering Saturday night. But the Anteaters hung on for a 73-70 victory over the University of San Diego before 1,767 in the Sports Center.

It was the first time in almost a year the Anteaters (2-2) have won two in a row. And it’s a streak that might have been three had they been able to make a free throw in the final seconds of regulation last week against 14th-ranked Ohio University.

“We were in the exact same situation tonight as we were against Ohio and the difference was that this time we made one of the free throws,” Coach Rod Baker said.

Against the Bobcats, freshman Kevin Simmons missed the front end of a one-and-one situation and Irvine lost in overtime. Against San Diego, senior Mark Odsather made one of two free throws with seven seconds remaining and then senior guard Zuri Williams blocked David Fizdale’s three-point attempt at the buzzer.

“That was a monster game for us,” Baker said. “It’s a win on the road against a good team. If we’re ever going to be any good, we have to win these.”

San Diego (3-2) didn’t go quietly into this night, however.

The Anteaters trailed, 54-50, with less than seven minutes to play. But Irvine--thanks largely to the offensive spark of freshman guard Brian Keefe--went on a 12-0 run and eventually led by eight after point guard Raimonds Miglinieks made two free throws with 4:27 remaining.

Irvine, which came into the game shooting 63% from the line, made 14 of 18 free throws in the final 7:14.

The Anteaters seemed to have seized command of the game when Williams made one of two free throws to put the Anteaters ahead, 71-64, with 24 seconds remaining. But Doug Harris, who made four of six three-pointers and led the Toreros with 23 points, made a three-pointer over Williams’ outstretched arm with 17 seconds left.

Khalid Channell, who had nine points and eight rebounds, made a free throw to give Irvine a 72-67 advantage with 15 seconds remaining, but Sean Flannery made a shot from about three feet beyond the three-point line to cut the Anteaters’ lead to two with seven seconds remaining.

“After I missed the first free throw, I was thinking, ‘Oh, no, another Ohio U.,’ ” Odsather said. “But I was determined to make them have to make one from 20 feet instead of two feet to get this one into overtime.”

Irvine trailed, 36-29, at halftime. But the Anteaters outrebounded the Toreros by nine in the second half and shot 54% from the floor after hitting only 38% of their first-half field goal attempts.

“It’s a different game when you make a couple of shots,” Baker said. “Our big guys stepped up in the second half and we made some free throws when it counted.

“They were leading and then we were leading. Hey, from where I was pacing, that was a great college basketball game.”

First-year San Diego Coach Brad Holland, who left Cal State Fullerton in September, saw it a bit differently.

“We got outhustled in the second half,” Holland said. “They’re a good team, but we beat ourselves tonight. We missed six or seven close-in shots and our interior defense was so awful that we either gave them easy shots or fouled them.”

The Anteaters are not going to quibble about whether they played well or San Diego played poorly. A victory is a victory.

“We needed this,” Channell said. “It’s a stepping stone for us. We’re getting more and more used to how to play during crunch time. We’re learning how to finish these kinds of games.”