SOUTHLAND MEN

UC Irvine 75, Long Beach State 69--When Jerry Green isn’t scoring for the UC Irvine basketball team, it usually spells doom for the Anteaters, but Irvine found another go-to guy Saturday night and his name is Jordan.

Forward Jordan Harris scored 30 points, including eight in the final four minutes, in a come-from-behind victory for Irvine in a Big West opener Saturday night at Irvine.

Harris, who entered the game averaging 10.1 points, was 12 of 16 from the field and had nine rebounds. He made four of six free throws in the final four minutes as Irvine dug out from 53-47 deficit midway through the second half. It was a breakout game for the 6-foot-5 junior transfer form Colgate, and it came in a game when leading scorer Jerry Green was thinking pass before shoot. Green, who averages 24.1 points and had led the Irvine scoring in every game this season, had only three points at halftime and finished with 13.

“That’s never part of the game plan,” Irvine Coach Pat Douglass said of Green passing up open shots in the first half. “But Jerry turned the ball over too much in our last game and we wanted him to work on his passing.”

Green had eight turnovers last week in a 75-74 loss to UCLA, but had three Saturday against Long Beach. Still he found himself with the ball in a crucial situation. Irvine was clinging to a 72-69 lead with eight seconds remaining when Green went to the free-throw line trying to seal the game. He swished both shots.

Green’s free throws, and another by Stanislav Zuzak with a second left, ended a see-saw battle that featured seven ties and seven lead changes. Long Beach (3-8, 0-1) led most of the second half, but Irvine (6-4, 1-0) took a 69-68 lead on a pair of free throws by Harris with two minutes to play.