UC Irvine 59, Pacific 53--It wasn’t pretty....

UC Irvine 59, Pacific 53--It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t decisive. But it was what UC Irvine needed.

The Anteaters scraped together enough of an effort for a victory over Pacific before 2,442 in the Bren Center. Jerry Green scored 14 points and Ben Jones 13. The defense held Pacific scoreless for seven minutes in the second half.

Thus, Irvine (9-10, 2-6) crawled out of last place in the Big West’s Western Division and moved to within one game of a conference tournament spot--which says plenty about the conference.

Jones made three consecutive three-pointers to get Irvine out of neutral in the first half. It sparked the Anteaters, who missed 16 of their first 18 shots, on a 17-4 run for a 21-15 lead. Jones had 12 points in the first half.

Green had 10 first-half points, five in the last 45 seconds. He made an NBA-distance three-pointer, then went coast-to-coast for a spinning eight-foot jumper at the buzzer and a 31-25 Irvine lead.

The Anteaters survived on defense in the second half. Pacific (9-11, 4-4) had 18 turnovers and Irvine only six.

Irvine made eight of 10 free throws in the last two minutes to clinch the victory.