Anteaters Go Big, Set Up Showdown
Freshman forward Stanislav Zuzak got the surprising word late Saturday afternoon that he was going to get his first start of the season, to counter what UC Irvine Coach Pat Douglass perceived was a decided height advantage held by Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
“We needed to do it for the rebounding,” Zuzak said. “We were not doing a good job in our last game.”
Zuzak finished with 10 points and seven rebounds and combined with reserve J.R. Christ to hold the leading scorer in the Big West Conference to 10 points, as Irvine tied a school record with its 11th consecutive victory, 75-63 over the host Mustangs.
Irvine has had trouble all season putting opponents away decisively, and that was the case again Saturday. But nonetheless, the Anteaters’ win sets the stage for next week’s big conference matchup against Utah State.
Saturday’s victory in front of 2,517 at Mott Gym, coupled with Utah State’s 71-57 win--its 12th in a row--against visiting Idaho means that both the Aggies (18-2, 7-0) and Anteaters (15-2, 7-0) take perfect conference records into their Wednesday night showdown at the Bren Center.
“Utah State is favored to win the league title again this year,” Douglass said. “They’re playing really well. If we are going to beat them, we definitely have to take our shot at them Wednesday.”
Irvine had difficulty getting its shots to go in against San Luis Obispo. The Anteaters made just 23 of 55 field-goal attempts, including five of 19 three-point tries.
But the Anteaters were sharp at the free-throw line, where they have struggled of late. They made 24 of 30 while the Mustangs (6-11, 0-6), off to their worst start in the conference since joining the Big West in the 1996-97 season, made just 12 of 22.
Guard Jerry Green resurfaced Saturday as Irvine’s leading scorer with 22 points. Forward Ben Jones, moved to the small forward spot with the insertion of Zuzak into the power forward position, had 19 points, tying a season high with his best output in more than a month. Christ had four points and eight rebounds, although the Anteaters were outrebounded, 41-36.
Three players scored 10 points each for San Luis Obispo, including the Big West’s leading scorer, Chris Bjorklund. Bjorklund, who averages 19.8 points a game, wore a pad under his shorts to cover a deep thigh bruise he sustained in Thursday’s 85-77 loss to Cal State Fullerton.
Bjorklund said that it limited his ability to shoot, but Zuzak and Christ made it difficult for any of the Mustangs to operate around the basket. Bjorklund was just three of eight from the field and four of nine from the free-throw line.
Douglass said he will likely go with the same lineup Wednesday against Utah State, replacing guard Malachi Edmond with Zuzak. It’s one of several times that he has tweaked the lineup during the win streak.
“When you are winning like this you really don’t want to change things up,” Douglass said. “But Stan is really doing a fine job for us. He’s playing at a level that we need to get him into the game more.”
A three-point basket by Jones gave the Anteaters a 10-3 lead just three minutes after tip-off. Then Jones fed Sean Jackson for a fast-break dunk.
Former Woodbridge High forward Brandon Beeson, who also finished with 10 points for Cal Poly, hit a 10-foot jumper five minutes later to cut Irvine’s lead to 15-10, but Irvine outscored the Mustangs, 18-8, over the next six minutes.
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Big West Standings
Through Saturday’s games
*--*
Conference Overall Team W L Pct. W L Pct. UC Irvine 7 0 1.000 15 2 .882 Utah State 7 0 1.000 18 2 .900 Long Beach State 5 2 .714 12 8 .600 Pacific 4 4 .500 12 7 .632 Boise State 3 4 .429 11 9 .550 UC Santa Barbara 3 4 .429 6 11 .353 CS Fullerton 2 5 .286 3 14 .176 Idaho 1 7 .125 4 15 .211 Cal Poly SLO 0 6 .000 6 11 .353
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Saturday’s results
UC Irvine 75, Cal Poly SLO 63
UC Santa Barbara 94, Cal State Fullerton 69
Long Beach State 59, Pacific 58
Utah State 71, Idaho 57