When Anteaters Hit the Road, It Hits Back

What a long, strange trip it’s been for the UC Irvine men’s basketball team. The Anteaters will have played five road games in a 13-day stretch ending tonight at Southern Utah.

Maybe after Sunday’s over-night stay in Las Vegas, Irvine’s luck will change. It can’t get any worse. Even getting to games has become difficult.

On Saturday in Stockton, the bus was 20 minutes late. Hotel officials called a slew of taxis. Three players rode with one reporter and three thers were set to go with another reporter before the bus arrived. The taxis were left circling the hotel.

“That’s how bad it’s getting for us,” Juma Jackson said. “The bus won’t even show up to pick us up.”

Irvine lost to Pacific, 96-46.

Nope, nothing has been easy for Irvine on the road.

It started Feb. 13 with an 84-69 loss to Cal State Fullerton. In that game, the Anteaters had a Kodak moment to illustrate their season.

In the second half, 6-foot-10 center Andrew Carlson dived for a loose ball, and managed a behind-the-back pass before hitting the ground. The ball bounced off teammate Anthony Delacruz’s shoulder to Jackson, who was flying up court. Jackson went in for an uncontested dunk but hit the heel of the rim. The ball came down in Lamarr Parker’s hands. Parker casually scored on a layup.

The Anteaters have lost 17 consecutive games away from home, dating back to last season.

Still, there have been little victories.

The day after the Pacific loss, the Anteaters’ bus to the airport was waiting, with the company’s owner on board, hat in hand.

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More strangeness: Paul Foster faced his twin brother, Nick, a reserve for Pacific, for the last time Saturday, at least in a college game. Both are seniors.

The two are identical right down to their school-boy haircuts. In fact, the only differences Saturday were the uniforms and the way Nick Foster put his brother away.

Nick Foster pump faked, prompting his brother to jump, then slipped under him for a layup. As usual, neither showed a bit of emotion after the play.

After Thousand Oaks High School, the brothers attended the Air Force Academy and quickly discovered the military was not for them. Nick Foster left after two weeks and Paul two weeks later.

“I decided right out of boot camp that it wasn’t for me,” Paul Foster said. “I’m not really good at taking orders.”

Orders? In the Air Force? Who knew?

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Strangers in the night? Watching at Pacific was former Anteater guard Clay McKnight, who said he drove up that day to see, “Pacific win its 20th game.”

Then he made the five-hour trek home that night.

McKnight, who bolted from the Irvine program last spring after two other players left, will attend Pacific next fall.

Watching the Irvine-Long Beach State game was former UCLA Coach Jim Harrick, who is rumored for every possible job opening.

Harrick, who was fired from UCLA, is a close friend of Irvine Coach Rod Baker, who is in the last year of his contract.

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Meanwhile, things are much better with the women’s basketball team. Although, there was some sweating going on.

The Anteaters clinched a spot in the Big West Conference tournament Sunday with a 75-63 victory over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The tournament begins March 5 in Reno.

It has been a tight race for weeks.

“It’s a big relief that we can at least confirm we’re going to the tournament,” Coach Colleen Matsuhara said. “Our parents had to be relieved. A lot of them already had airplane reservations for Reno.”

Including Shannon Anders’ parents, who are coming from Dallas. Anders took care of those travel plans personally with 19 points against San Luis Obispo. She made 10 of 11 free throws in the final 2 minutes 48 seconds.

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The men’s volleyball team got a taste of big-time volleyball over the weekend. They lost two matches to top-ranked Brigham Young on back-to-back nights.

Friday’s match drew 4,500 fans. Saturday’s match drew 2,500. Irvine was swept the first night, but held its own the next night. In fact, the match was tied 1-1 in games and Irvine led, 15-14, in the third game before falling.

“The crowd intimidated us the first night, but we gave them everything they could handle Saturday,” Irvine Coach Charlie Brande said.

Notes

Irvine, which hosts the Big West Conference swim championships this week, has three strong entries. Chris Robertson is seeded No. 1 in the 200-meter butterfly. He had the second-fastest time in the conference this season (1:54.38). Diver Tam Nihei had the second-best score in the three-meter event (332.4). In the women’s competition, Arika Early, a transfer from Houston who graduated from Mission Viejo High, already has qualified for the NCAA championships in the one- and three-meter events.

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Coming Attractions

Here’s a look at key games this week for UC Irvine:

* Men’s basketball closes out its season with three games. The Anteaters play tonight at Southern Utah, then host UC Santa Barbara Thursday and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Saturday. Both home games begin at 7 p.m.

* Women’s basketball hosts Cal State Fullerton at 5 p.m. Thursday.

* Men’s volleyball plays at UCLA at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and hosts Hawaii at 7 p.m. Saturday in Crawford Hall. The Anteaters are 2-7 overall and 2-5 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play.

* Women’s tennis plays at 2 p.m. Friday at San Jose State and at 10 a.m. Saturday at Santa Clara. The Anteaters are 3-0 at home, but 0-1 on the road.

* Swimming hosts the Big West Conference championships Thursday through Saturday at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach.