Green Leads the Way for Irvine at Loyola

The weather was surprisingly pleasant last week at the Robert Morris tournament, which might have been the only good news for UC Irvine during its five-day stay in Moon Township, Penn.

Trying to build on their stunning success last season, the Anteaters stumbled to a sixth-place finish among eight teams, filling their time with losses to Illinois State and Kent State, while needing a second-half rally to topple unheralded Oakland (Mich.) University.

Irvine returned home searching for an early-season identity. And an easy victory, which it got Wednesday night at Loyola Marymount.

Jerry Green scored 36 points and Irvine avoided further nonconference complications with a 71-59 victory over the Lions before 1,965 at Gersten Pavilion.

Green’s sizzling shooting gave the Anteaters a 39-21 halftime edge and turned the game into a stroll, Irvine’s lead never shrinking to fewer than 10 points in the second half.

“We’ve had five games in eight days, and I think our kids were fairly resilient to come out here and play one of our best games so far,” Irvine Coach Pat Douglass said.

In the process, the Anteaters (4-2) avoided their third loss and perhaps gained a minor mental lift: Last season, they didn’t lose their third game until Feb. 8 and set a school record for victories with a 25-5 mark.

“We can’t go on last year’s team,” Green said. “This is a whole different ballclub. We’re all learning how to play the game together.”

Green nearly outscored Loyola Marymount by himself in the first half, connecting on four three-point baskets and scoring 19 points.

Loyola Marymount (2-3) made only 17 of 62 shots (27.4%) and two of 22 three-pointers.

Andy Osborn scored 18 points for the Lions, who were seven of 28 and missed all nine of their three-point attempts in the first half.

“We’ve got to shoot the ball better if we’re going to be a good team,” Loyola Marymount Coach Steve Aggers said. “We’ve got to get our shooters making their open shots.”