Sluggish Irvine Hangs On and Wins

UC Irvine continues to play as if it is on borrowed time.

The Anteaters made only 39% of their field-goal attempts, missed seven free throws in the second half and lost the battle on the backboards to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Thursday night.

Yet they managed to take a 71-66 victory over the Mustangs in the opening round of the Big West Conference tournament at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Guard Jerry Green led all scorers with 31 points and had nine rebounds. Teammate Sean Jackson added 15 points for the Anteaters (25-3), who advanced to play Pacific.

Irvine, despite winning the Big West regular-season title, has stumbled and fumbled its way into and out of tight-game situations for several weeks without a lot of production from key players. Of the five other Anteaters who scored, none tallied more than six points and their collective shooting percentage--including a one-for-nine effort from senior guard Malachi Edmond, who started in place of center Stanislav Zuzak--was a collective eight for 24 (30%).

“That’s the way it has been,” Irvine Coach Pat Douglass said. “I think we won one league game by double figures. Each game we’ve had to scratch out what we can. We prepare and react, but I’ve never looked at us as a dominant team.”

Indeed, San Luis Obispo, which was playing without its leading rebounder, forward Brandon Beeson, who is injured, didn’t think so either. The Mustangs (9-19) got 27 points from senior guard Watende Favors and 23 points and 10 rebounds from senior forward Chris Bjorklund, the school’s all-time scoring leader. They held a commanding 46-37 rebounding edge and had 18 more shots than the Anteaters.

Green’s three-pointer to beat the buzzer gave the Anteaters a 36-30 halftime lead and they extended it to 40-30 on two free throws by Green a little over a minute into the second half.

But San Luis Obispo rallied with a 17-3 run that ended with the Mustangs in front, 47-43, after a basket by Favors with 13:16 left to play.

Not long after his tantrum, Jackson answered with a three-point basket to tie the score. San Luis Obispo center Varnie Dennis answered with a turn-around jump shot and then Jackson made another three-point basket to put Irvine ahead for good, 50-49, with 7:54 to play.

From there the Anteaters went on an 11-4 run for a 61-53 lead and held on down the stretch.

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Pacific stopped UC Santa Barbara’s six-game domination of the Tigers with a 71-69 overtime victory in the late game at Anaheim.

Peter Heizer and David Bunts made consecutive three-point shots in the overtime to spark Pacific’s victory. The Tigers’ Mike Preston also made two clutch free throws with 12 seconds left.

Ross Mills led the Tigers (17-11) with 18 points. Mark Hull led the Gauchos (13-15) with 18 points.