Anteaters’ Fresh Start Turns Stale

That new car smell didn’t last very long for UC Irvine.

The Anteaters hoped to be better, thought they would be better, which led to fully expecting to be better. They are back to hoping and thinking after a 75-62 loss to San Diego Friday in the Bren Center.

“We don’t necessarily know how to win yet,” Irvine forward Marek Ondera said. “Yet, we’ll get there. We didn’t want this to happen.”

Or expect it.

The Anteaters, 6-20 a year ago, figured they were deeper and more talented. It seemed a hard sell to the university’s students, the first 1,000 of whom were to receive free tickets. A crowd of 1,261 showed up. Maybe those absent knew something, or were at least skeptical.

The Toreros (1-0) never trailed and led by as many as 19. They were smooth and forceful--all that Irvine wanted to be.

“I’m sorry, I expected a better show,” Irvine Coach Pat Douglass said. “We looked like we had stage fright. You can’t fault kids for being nervous. But you have to deal with your nerves and relax.”

Irvine went scoreless for the first four minutes. Still, the Anteaters trailed only 26-20 with 2 minutes 40 seconds left in the half.

San Diego’s Chris Ferguson, a freshman from Irvine High School, then scored seven consecutive points and the Toreros led 37-25 at halftime.

Ferguson, who had 25 friends and family in the sparse crowd, finished with 10 points--all in the first half--and was one of four San Diego players in double figures. Dana White had 23 points, Andre Laws 11 and Tyler Field 10. The Toreros shot 51% from the field.

A year ago, San Diego beat Irvine, 76-64, in what was a similar game. The Toreros, who returned one starter, muscled and pressured the Anteaters out of their offense, then picked them apart on the other end.

“We made a lot of mistakes,” Ondera said. “We’re going to get over that. And none of our new guys played to their capabilities. It’s early and we’re only going to get better.”

They hope.

The Anteaters were going to run more this season. They had 36 points in the first 30 minutes.

Greg Ethington, a 6-foot-8 freshman, and J.R. Christ, a 6-9 sophomore, were brought in to create an inside presence. They were scoreless in the first half.

Sean Jackson, a transfer from California, had 34 points in two exhibition victories. He missed all seven of his shots and sat out the last 10 minutes.

Jerry Green scored 18 points, mostly by creating his own openings. Ondera kept the Anteaters from complete collapse with 17 points and 12 rebounds.