Pacific Adds to UC Irvine’s Record of Trouble

Coach Rod Baker, dejected and more than a little tired, stepped out of the locker room Saturday night and was asked to rehash UC Irvine’s latest loss.

“Do you really need me for this?” Baker said.

Rhetorical as that was, it was hard to argue the question.

Out on the court the Pacific players and most of the 5,252 at the Spanos Center were still celebrating a 96-46 victory that clinched the Big West Conference’s Western Division championship.

For UCI, it was merely another beating, one of its worst.

The Anteaters (1-22, 1-13) lost by 30 or more points for the sixth time this season. They scored 14 points in the first half. They had fewer field goals (five) than Pacific had three-point field goals (eight) in the first half.

“Let’s not kid anybody, that was the best team in the league,” Baker said.

Pacific was missing two starters. Guard Adam Jacobsen, the Tigers’ leading scorer last season, is out for the season because of a knee injury. Michael Olowokandi, Pacific’s 7-foot center, seemed ticketed for conference player of the year honors before knee and ankle injuries.

“Add two players to the best team in the league and it is still the best team,” Baker said.

Irvine left no doubt which team was the worst. With three games left, the Anteaters are one loss from tying the school record.

The highlights Saturday all belonged to the Tigers, and they spread it around with 27 assists. They had six players score in double figures, led by Mark Boelter’s 16.

It was the largest margin of victory in the Tigers’ history, topping the 49-point victory over Nevada in 1970. It was only the second-worst loss for Irvine this season, 12 points short of the 102-40 hazing by USC.

It also gave the Tigers (20-4, 11-3) their first 20-victory season since 1970-71 and a 12-0 home record this season. It was Irvine’s 17th consecutive road loss, dating to last season.

“I ask my assistant coaches before the game, ‘Why am I so nervous? We’re at home where we haven’t loss and we’re playing a team that hasn’t won on the road,’ ” Pacific Coach Bob Thomason said. “But then when I saw the energy we had the first five minutes, I knew we were going to be all right.”

The Tigers led at halftime, 52-14. It equaled the most points they have scored in a half this season. The other big first half came against Division II Chico State.

Things were so bad that Baker subbed five players--Boris Reznik, Damion Pugh, Juan Toscanini, Scott Phillips and Wendell Robinson--with 2:49 left in the half. Two are not on scholarship and one other, Reznik, had played 30 minutes all season.

“I put in five guys who were going to play at the level I wanted,” Baker said.

The game was three minutes old before Andrew Carlson sank a 10-foot shot for the Anteaters’ first points.

They then went another three minutes before Lamarr Parker’s layup gave them their next points. Of the 14 first-half points, Carlson had six, one more than his season average.

Irvine had seven shots that didn’t hit the rim in the half. Toss in 14 Irvine turnovers and you had an embarrassing situation developing.

Pacific, meanwhile, went about its business, shooting 51.5% for the game and made 12 of 23 three-pointers.