Long Beach Rocks UCI’s Bid for Upset

Rock Lloyd made a cameo appearance Thursday night.

A sometime bystander for Long Beach State this season, Lloyd spoiled UC Irvine’s best-laid plans. He scored 10 points in a three-minute span of a 69-60 victory that kept the 49ers undefeated in Big West Conference play and kept the Anteaters under the gun in the Western Division.

Lloyd, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound guard, made five of nine shots and finished with 16 points. He also had five rebounds in pushing Long Beach (15-3, 7-0) to its 13th consecutive victory, equaling the third-longest streak in school history.

While the 49ers roll on, dominating a weak division in a lesser conference, Irvine continued to look up at them . . . and just about everyone else. The Anteaters, losers of five straight, are tied with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for last in the division.

“We don’t talk about wins and losses,” Irvine Coach Pat Douglass said. “We talked about that earlier this season and it didn’t work for us. We’re better off looking at how we played.”

Irvine played well Thursday.

The 49ers, with five minutes from Lloyd, played better.

“Rock was unbelievable,” Long Beach Coach Wayne Morgan said. “He’s our best perimeter player. He’s our best all-around player. That’s why we keep playing him.”

At times, you had to wonder why.

Lloyd, who averaged a team-high 18 points last season, has struggled while other 49ers clicked. He was averaging 13 points, but was shooting only 41% entering the game.

“That’s just our team,” Lloyd said. “Anybody can go out and score 18 to 20 points for us.”

Thursday, it was Lloyd’s turn. Every time Irvine (8-10, 1-6) threatened, he answered.

Marek Ondera’s three-pointer pulled Irvine to within 54-50 with 4 minutes 41 seconds left. Lloyd was fouled scoring a layup and made the free throw.

Ondera’s dunk made it 59-55 with 2:38 left. Lloyd countered with a three-pointer.

“That is a very talented team we played tonight,” Douglass said. “If we had played that way in games earlier this year, we would have more wins. It we play like that from now on, the wins will come.”

The Anteaters’ chances of making the conference tournament will be decided in the next six games, two each against Pacific, UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Those three teams, plus Cal State Fullerton, are the Anteaters’ competition for a tournament spot.

Two will not make it. There is no way conference officials can keep the others out.

“We sometimes just go our own way on the court,” said Ondera, who scored a team-high 15 points. “Tonight was a collective effort. I can feel things getting better. The time is now.”

Their time wasn’t Thursday.

Irvine held its own in a physical game, surviving mainly with defense. Mate Milisa, the Long Beach center who averages 19 points, scored nine. Power forward James Williams, who averages 14 points, scored six.

Long Beach matched that defense. Ron Johnson, who scored a team-high 18 points, was part of a committee of players that ran Irvine’s Jerry Green ragged.

Green, who averages 19 points, scored his first point with 8:28 left. He finished with six points, making only three of 11 shots. He also had eight of Irvine’s 21 turnovers.