Anteaters Come Back to Win

The ball rested on the lip of the rim, if only momentarily, and all of Long Beach State’s hopes--and UC Irvine’s fears--lay there too. Something seemed appropriate about the entire night’s emotion wrapped up in one final play because, in the end, no one had anything left to give.

And when the ball rolled off the rim and fell to the floor, Irvine left content. Long Beach point guard Rasul Salahuddin just missed a 25-foot three-point attempt at the final buzzer Monday night, enabling Irvine to escape with an 84-81 Big West Conference victory in front of 4,789 at the Pyramid.

“It was just a little short,” said Salahuddin, who collapsed to the floor after watching the shot.

“I was pretty deep, but I thought it was going in. I guess I just didn’t get enough rotation on it.”

The victory put the Anteaters (13-7, 9-3 in conference) back in first place. They now hold a half-game lead over the 49ers (14-8, 9-4), who began the game with a six-game conference winning streak. Long Beach played without standout guard James Cotton, who has a prostate problem, for the second consecutive game.

This is latest point in any season Irvine, which avenged a 69-65 overtime loss to Long Beach on Feb. 3 at the Bren Center, has been in first place. Moreover, this is Irvine’s first victory in Long Beach since the 1985-86 season.

Anteater guard Brian Keefe tied a career high with 29 points, making seven of 10 three-pointers. Irvine tied a school record with 15 three-pointers and shot 68.2% from behind the three-point arc in the game.

“We have to give them credit,” Keefe said. “They play so hard all the time, and they just bring out the best in you.”

Irvine held a 73-56 lead with 5:46 left during a game in which three players on each team fouled out. However, Irvine barely held on because it made only 12 of 23 free throws in the second half.

Irvine made only three of 10 free throws in the final 59 seconds. But Long Beach hurt itself by making only 54.8% of its free throws (17 of 31).

“We shot threes better than we did free throws,” Irvine Coach Rod Baker said. “I was just happy that we made the shots we did.”

Salahuddin led the charge, scoring a career-high 24 points with seven assists and five steals, and set a school record for steals in a season with 76. He keyed the late run with his defense and made three of of eight three-pointers down the stretch.

“I’ve never seen a Long Beach State team just lay down, and I didn’t expect to see it tonight,” Baker said. “I knew they would keep competing.”

As they have throughout much of their previous streak, the 49ers started strong. However, the Anteaters, relying on excellent three-point shooting and Raimonds Miglinieks’ passing, raced back . . . and then ahead for good. Miglinieks, the Big West’s assist leader, fouled out with 12 points and six assists.

The Anteaters outscored the 49ers, 24-1, over a 7:26 span of the half. They led, 41-33, at halftime and made eight of 13 from behind the three-point line.

“Obviously I’m proud of my team because we could have just folded our tents,” Long Beach Coach Seth Greenberg said. “They kept finding ways to fight back, but Irvine kept making the big shots. It was just one of those nights. How many times is someone going to shoot 15 of 22 from three?”

Yet, everything worked well for Long Beach early in the first half. Playing inspired defense, Long Beach took a 23-9 lead on a jumper by guard Eric Brown with 10:30 to go in the half.

Salahuddin was the key to the run with three steals and several good decisions that ended in fast-break layups and dunks. A jumper by Salahuddin gave Long Beach a 26-12 lead with 9:51 remaining before halftime. At that point, the 49ers’ players felt every bit the Big West’s best group.

Then it all stopped. Literally.

Long Beach didn’t score another point for more than four minutes. Irvine didn’t cooperate, seemingly becoming an offensive machine during the depressing stretch for Long Beach.

Five consecutive points by Keefe--a three-pointer and two free throws--tied the score, 26-26, with 6:04 to go. That capped an impressive 14-0 run for Irvine that left Long Beach wondering, ‘What happened?’

But the Anteaters were having so much fun, they weren’t about to let up. They didn’t, keeping the pressure on the 49ers with outstanding three-point shooting.