It Goes From Bad to Worse for UC Irvine

UC Irvine Coach Rod Baker made a last gesture by crumpling up the final stats and tossing them on the floor.

There was little else to be said about Washington State’s 91-53 victory over the Anteaters on Monday before 2,120 at Friel Court despite the suspension of Cougar center Tavares Mack for missing practice and a first-half injury to freshman forward Chris Crosby.

Irvine did not score until Lamarr Parker made one of two free throws with 12:39 left in the opening half. By then, the Cougars (4-0) had a 16-0 lead and it only got worse. The Anteaters (0-2) had only three field goals in the first 16 minutes and trailed, 54-26, at halftime and still it got worse.

Baker benched four starters 46 seconds into the second half to make a point.

“If you ask any coach, they think every day that their team will come together and everything is going to be fine and, once we get going, everything will be all right,” Baker said.

That moment has yet to come.

Carlos Daniel scored 18 points and Isaac Fontaine added 17 as the Cougars shot 63% in the first half and 58% (32 of 55) for the game.

Parker had 13 points for Irvine. The Anteaters, who rely heavily on freshmen Brian Johnson and Juma Jackson, couldn’t match it. Both scored only five points.

Irvine shot 28.8% (17 of 59) for the game, had 18 turnovers and only two assists.