TONIGHT

MEN

* UC Irvine (6-2, 1-0) at UC Santa Barbara (3-5, 1-0), 7, KUCI-FM (88.9), KWRM (1370), KTLK (1340) -- Irvine won its fifth in a row at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Tuesday night. The Anteaters, though, have lost five straight to Santa Barbara. Freshman forward Darren Fells (7.9 points, 4.8 rebounds a game) is playing beyond his years. Guard Ross Schrader is shooting 48.3% from the three-point line. With its offense struggling, Santa Barbara has gone back to a defensive mind-set, which was apparent in its 54-47 victory Tuesday over Long Beach State. The Gauchos held Long Beach to 30% shooting and forced the 49ers into 17 misses in 18 three-point attempts. A victory will give seventh-year Coach Bob Williams his 100th victory at the school. Free admission will be given to those who bring canned food, clothing or bottled water to aid the victims of the tsunami in southern Asia.

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* Long Beach State (2-8, 0-1) at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (2-6, 0-1), 7 -- The 49ers have been beset with bad news. Reserve swingman Louis Darby had surgery Monday on a broken bone in his left foot and will be out six to eight weeks. They also learned that forward Anthony Coleman, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, would probably miss the rest of the season as he would need another surgery to ease swelling on the left tibia that was repaired during the off-season. Their offense has become unsightly. They have not reached 50 points in three of their last four games and their shooting is a dismal 34% from the field during that stretch.

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* Cal State Fullerton (5-3, 1-0) at Pacific (6-2, 1-0), 7 -- Fullerton made a strong statement with its overtime victory at Northridge Tuesday night, its first conference-opening win in 10 years. The Titans can make an even stronger statement with a win against the defending Big West tournament champion that’s picked by many to win the regular-season title. Over the first eight games, sophomore guard Bobby Brown has increased his shooting percentage by three points from last season and his scoring average is up from 13.2 to 19.6. The defense-minded Tigers are holding opposing teams to 40.8% shooting and 30.8% behind the three-point line. The trio of guard David Doubley, forward Christian Maraker and center Guillaume Yango account for more than 40 points per game or about three-fifths of their team’s scoring.

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* UC Riverside (4-5, 0-1) at Cal State Northridge (2-7, 0-1), 7, KVMD (Ch. 23), KPRO (1570) -- Riverside, picked to finish last in the Big West, was encouraged by its showing against title favorite Pacific in a 13-point loss in Stockton. The Highlanders were in the game throughout despite shooting 29% and leading scorer Vili Morton held to a season-low eight points. Northridge is trying to find itself after a stunning loss to Fullerton. Coach Bobby Braswell was not only upset about the lax defense played in the final minutes of regulation but also over the 20 three-pointers attempted, of which the Matadors made five. A bright spot was the play of sophomore center Thomas Shewmake, who had season highs of 14 points and 12 rebounds.

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-- Eric Stephens