Washington State Trounces Anteaters

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

There was little to be said about Washington State’s 91-53 victory over the Anteaters Monday in front of 2,120 at Friel Court. It was a humbling experience, even for a team that is expected to take its lumps this season.

Irvine did not score its first point until Lamarr Parker made one of two free throws with 12 minutes 39 seconds left in the 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 yanked four starters 46 seconds into the second half for lack of effort. One could argue that flaw was constant from the start.

“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 for the Anteaters and it is only going to get tougher. They play Nevada Las Vegas, USC and Utah in the next three weeks.

“I think it’s too soon to get a reading on us,” Baker said. “We have yet to play the first seven, eight, nine minutes. We still need to come out and play at the start.”

For the second consecutive game, the Anteaters came out flat. For the second consecutive game, they were forced into damage control early, only this time they didn’t patch things up.

Against San Diego State on Nov. 22, the Anteaters bottomed out in the first half, then made a run. They pulled to within eight points before losing, 100-88. This time, they hit bottom and stayed there.

Irvine shot 28.8% for the game, had 18 turnovers and only two assists.

“The chemistry isn’t there right now,” said Parker, who had a team high 13 points and both assists. “Everyone seems out of sync.

“I haven’t slightest idea why we play bad at the start.”

It certainly couldn’t be blamed entirely on the competition.

This was not the cream of the Pac-10 the Anteaters were playing. Washington State is picked by most to finish in the lower half of the conference and that was before center Tavares Mack was suspended for missing Sunday’s practice. The Cougars also lost freshman forward Chris Crosby, who sprained an ankle late in the first half and did not return. Point guard Kareem Jackson played but has been slowed by a knee injury.

Still, what was left was still more than enough.

Even without Mack, the Cougars dominated the inside. Carlos Daniel made six of 10 shots, scored 18 points and had nine rebounds. He scored seven consecutive points at the end of the first half

Isaac Fontaine scored 17 points, moving into fifth place on the all-time Cougar scoring list. He might have climbed higher, but played only 22 minutes.

Forward Cameron Johnson made five of seven shots and scored 11 points. The Cougars shot 63% in the first half and 58% for the game.

The Anteaters, who rely heavily on freshmen Brian Johnson and Juma Jackson, couldn’t match the Cougars’ shooting. Jackson scored 23 and Johnson 19 against San Diego State. Both scored five against the Cougars.