UC Irvine Starts Well, Falls Apart

This time, it cost UC Irvine.

The Anteaters once again played strong basketball. Once again, they built a large lead. They even had a large crowd to entertain.

But this time, when it all unraveled, there was not a thread left.

Boise State rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit, then made a last defensive stand to hold on for a 53-52 victory Saturday in front of 3,156 in the Bren Center.

Irvine had a chance with 14 seconds left.

But guard Jerry Green couldn’t find a path to the basket. He passed to Adam Stetson, who tried to hit Marek Ondera under the basket. But C.J. Williams deflected the ball out of bounds and the referees ruled that time had run out.

Small promotional balls and T-shirts, as well as trash, were tossed on the court. Who knew Anteater fans were unruly? Who knew the Anteaters had fans?

But the final seconds and the crowd’s small outburst were not on Coach Pat Douglass’ mind.

“This game wasn’t lost at the end, it was lost the first five minutes of the second half,” Douglass said.

Things won’t get any easier. Irvine must beat visiting Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday or risk starting Big West Conference play 1-5. The Anteaters play at powerful New Mexico State on Saturday.

“Maybe we’re not a good enough team to play 40 minutes,” Douglass said. “We talk about playing 40 minutes, but maybe we’re not good enough to do that yet.”

For 20 minutes, Irvine (8-6, 1-3) played as well as it has all season. The Anteaters led by as many as 16 and were up, 33-19, at halftime.

They were sharp on offense, shooting 61%, and oppressive on defense, holding the Broncos scoreless for the first 5 minutes 25 seconds.

Then the Anteaters took one in the solar plexus. Green, Sean Jackson and Ondera shredded Boise State in the first half. Jackson got only two shots in the second half and Ondera one.

Boise State certainly had something to do with that, playing in-your-face defense. But the Broncos had done the same in the first half and were picked apart.

“I don’t know what to think,” Jackson said. “They stayed with their system, ran their offense and executed. We didn’t stick to the things that got us the lead.”

Abe Jackson scored all 17 of his points in the second half, fueling a 29-11 run by Boise State (7-8, 1-3). By the time the Irvine caught its breath, it trailed, 47-42.

“We’re a soft team when we get ahead, that’s what it comes down to,” said Irvine’s Jackson, who scored 14 points. “We get a lead and then I don’t know what happens.”

The Anteaters had flirted with such a collapse Thursday, when they nearly squandered a 56-38 second-half lead against Idaho. They hung on for a 71-67 victory.

This time, though, they didn’t have the hey-we-won bottom line.

Jackson, Boise State’s leading scorer, had two shots in the first half, then made seven of 10 in the second half.

He scored 12 of the Broncos’ first 18 points in the second half. His 17-foot jumper gave Boise State its first lead, 37-36.

But the killer came from Williams, who tossed in a 40-foot three-pointer as the shot clock ran out, giving Boise State a 44-42 lead. The Broncos never trailed again.

“Maybe they had destiny working for them,” Douglass said.

Green tried to carry things. He took six consecutive shots at one point and had 12 of Irvine’s 19 second-half points.

His seven-foot jumper pulled Irvine to within 53-52 with 30 seconds left.

Green then forced a turnover with 14 seconds left, giving the Anteaters one last chance. They never got off a shot.

“This one hurts,” Green said. “It hurts personally. It hurts everybody. We just have to take it.”