This Isn’t End That UC Irvine Envisioned

UC Irvine was placed on a bubble Friday night. Or did it just burst beneath the Anteaters?

NCAA tournament dreams all but fluttered away after Pacific devoured Irvine, 74-58, in the semifinals of the Big West Tournament at the Anaheim Convention Center. The pro-Anteater crowd of 4,268, a fan base Irvine has built during a season of promise, was left with only slim hope of the school’s first NCAA bid.

“Make no mistake, we got whupped,” Irvine Coach Pat Douglass said.

Tiger guard Maurice McLemore held the paddle. He was everything Irvine’s Jerry Green wasn’t Friday.

McLemore, who averages nine points, scored 22 and snuffed Irvine’s second-half rally. He was the driving force behind an 18-3 start that sunk Irvine in quicksand. The Tigers led, 39-17, at halftime.

“We talked before the game that we needed to bring our A game and we did that tonight,” Pacific Bob Thomason said.

The Anteaters got an incomplete.

Green, the conference’s leading scorer, looked nothing like the conference player of the year. He made one of eight shots in the first half and finished with 12 points.

Green’s consolation was that he was in good company. This was a group effort. Ben Jones, Irvine’s second-leading scorer, was one for seven and finished with six points.

While Irvine shot 28%, Pacific made 54%.

The aftermath left Pacific facing Utah State in tonight’s title game. Irvine could only hope for an at-large bid.

The Anteaters do have a 25-4 record, which includes a victory over California, another bubble team seeking an NCAA bid. Irvine also had victories over Belmont, UC Riverside, Howard and UC San Diego.

“I mean, we still have one of the best records in the country, hopefully they will consider us,” Irvine’s Douglass said. “I don’t know what [the selection committee] will do.”

Follow its history?

The Big West has not been awarded an at-large bid since 1993. The conference hasn’t had a team win a NCAA tournament game since 1993. The Anteaters’ RPI rating reads more like R.I.P. at 65.

All of which spells N-I-T.

“We’re going to wait until Sunday and see what happens,” Green said. “If we go to the NIT, that’s great. That would be an accomplishment. Our goal was the NCAA.”

The Anteaters have spent the last three months making a convincing case to be considered among the NCAA’s 65 this year.

All that lobbying unraveled in the first half, when Irvine managed only six field goals. There was a glimmer of hope in the second half. Malachi Edmond sank a three-point shot to spark a 17-3 run that cut Pacific’s lead to 52-41 with 10:31 left.

All it amounted to was a last twitch of hope in Irvine’s season.

The Anteaters did most of that damage while McLemore was on the bench. He returned and drove past Green for a layup. Then McLemore sank a three-point shot to move the Tigers’ lead back to 59-42.