Anteaters Go From Worst to Solo First

UC Irvine, which learned just before tipoff Saturday night with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo that Utah State had lost, responded by playing perhaps its worst half of the season, if not the last five years--a period in which losing was a regular occurrence.

The Anteaters, however, rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to beat the Mustangs, 93-89, at the Bren Center. The win left UCI alone in first place in the Big West Conference, a game up on Utah State with four to go before the conference tournament.

Guard Jerry Green scored a career-high 35 points, including 14 of the team’s first 16 points to open the second half. It was the bulk of a 16-2 Anteater run that closed the gap to 55-52 with 16 minutes 18 seconds left to play.

Green missed a three-point attempt that would have tied the score about a minute later, but he nailed seven of eight free throws and scored on a superb spin move in the final 8:47 to guide the Anteaters. He made 13 of 14 free throws and 10 of 19 field-goal attempts.

A total of 55 fouls were called and the teams combined to make 55 of 81 free throws.

The Anteaters (20-3, 11-1), who recorded their first 20-win season since 1981-82, didn’t seem to handle the news of Utah State’s 71-56 loss at Long Beach State well. In the first half, UCI made only 11 of 28 field-goal attempts and had trouble getting the ball to Green, who made only three of nine shots.

Coach Pat Douglass said he thinks the news, which was announced over the public address system as the Anteaters and the Mustangs took the floor, hurt Irvine’s play.

“We seemed to get more emotional and were rushing ourselves more than we are used to,” he said.

The announced crowd of 3,218 whooped it up when it heard the news, but then it must have felt like it was in some kind of time warp for the next 25 minutes.

“They came out to play and we were sluggish,” Irvine forward Ben Jones said of San Luis Obispo, which made six of 10 three-pointers in the first half. “They were burying shots and they got their confidence up early.”

San Luis Obispo (9-14, 3-9) made five of its eight field-goal attempts, but trailed, 24-19, with 11:55 left in the first half.

But from there the Mustangs dominated, particularly in the key. Over the next five minutes San Luis Obispo went on a 16-2 run to take a 35-25 lead following a three-point basket by freshman Jamaal Scott, who finished with 18 points.

San Luis Obispo extended its lead to 45-30 with 2:50 to go thanks to a 10-3 spurt that ended on another three-pointer, this time by Watende Favors, who led the Mustangs with 21 points.

Irvine got within 11 twice before halftime, but then Favors beat the shot clock with a 45-foot shot that he tossed underhanded as the horn sounded.

A three-pointer by Favors to open the second half made it 53-36 in favor of San Luis Obispo.

“We got off to a good start and then they hit some tough shots in the beginning of the second half,” Mustang center Chris Bjorklund said. “Our big guys were in foul trouble so we had to back off. We wanted to take Jerry Green out of his game.”

Keeping Green under wraps for the entire game didn’t happen.

“I’ve been there in this situation before. We were down by 18 points at Pacific and came back to win,” Green said. “We never gave up and took it one possession at a time.

“I feel that when I take over, my team follows me.”

Jones, who finished with 15 points--12 of them in the second half--agreed.

“That’s what Jerry Green does,” Jones said. “That’s what he has always done. He leads the way.”