UC Irvine Gets Easy Win in Season Opener

Before making a foray into more dicey college basketball territory, UC Irvine broke a sweat Friday, routing Cal State Dominguez Hills, 106-69, in front of 1,487 at the Bren Events Center.

The Anteaters play USC on Monday and UCLA next Saturday.

“Basically, we just want to have a presence on the court [in those games],” Irvine Coach Pat Douglass said.

“I don’t know if we can upset them on their courts, but I want our players have confidence and believe in themselves.”

The Anteaters buoyed their confidence plenty against Dominguez Hills, leading wire to wire. Point guard Aaron Fitzgerald, a transfer from Jacksonville (Tex.) College, had 20 points, nine assists and six rebounds. Greg Ethington scored a career-high 22 points and Ross Schraeder 17.

Irvine, which shot 58% from the field, led by as many as 38 points in the second half.

It was the first time Irvine has scored more than 100 points since losing to Long Beach State, 111-106, in the 1993-94 season.

Chris Foster

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Pepperdine 80, Fairleigh Dickinson 79 -- Glen McGowan had 22 points and little-used reserve Chase Griffin came off the bench to make two clutch free throws to help the Waves win fifth place in the BCA Invitational at Raleigh, N.C.

Yakhouba Diawara added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Waves (2-1), who won two straight after an 80-58 loss to East Carolina in the first round. Alex Acker scored 15 points.

Tamien Trent led the Knights (1-2) with a career-high 27 points.

UC Santa Barbara 80, San Diego State 72 -- Freshman Alex Harris scored eight points in overtime, including consecutive three-pointers, in a sloppy opener for both teams at San Diego.

San Diego State’s Marcus Slaughter brought the Aztecs back all by himself, scoring their final 16 points of regulation and forcing overtime with a put-back at the buzzer to tie it, 63-63.

The Aztecs then missed their first four shots of overtime, including one by Slaughter.

The Gauchos took control in overtime with a three-pointer by Chrismen Oliver and two by Harris. They made eight straight free throws in the final minute.

Samford 69, Cal State Fullerton 57 -- Samford made 11 three-point shots in the first round of the Mohegan Sun Classic at New Britain, Conn., in the season opener for both teams.

The Titans cut into a 12-point second-half deficit to make the score 47-46 with seven minutes left. But the Bulldogs, from the Ohio Valley Conference, outscored the Titans 14-2 over the next five minutes to win their season opener.

Jermaine Harper led Cal State Fullerton with 20 points, including 14 in the second half.

The Bulldogs spread the court on offense, set numerous screens and sought backdoor cuts for lay-ups. But their primary offensive weapons were three-point shots.

Charlotte 94, Long Beach State 63 -- Charlotte easily won this game featuring a matchup of teams that are nicknamed 49ers. Mitchell Baldwin scored a career-high 25 points to lead Charlotte at Charlotte, N.C.

Baldwin, who broke his hand in September, was nine for 10 from the field and added four rebounds and four steals.

Long Beach State shot 31.4% (22-70) from the field and a miserable 12% (3-25) from three-point range.

Junior Louis Darby led Long Beach with 15 points.

From Associated Press

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Unable to work out in the Sports Arena since practice began last month, USC practiced in the Lakers’ facility in El Segundo on Friday to better prepare itself for Monday’s season opener against UC Irvine. The Trojans, who use the school’s on-campus and antiquated North Gym, will not see the inside of their home arena until their Monday morning shoot-around, just before the Anteaters’ shoot-around.... Point guard Dwayne Shackleford, a junior college All-American who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, has started drills though he is not expected to play until USC’s second game, Nov. 28 at No. 4-ranked North Carolina, at the earliest.

Paul Gutierrez

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WOMEN

USC 54, Massachusetts 49 -- The Trojans notched their first win of the season and the first under new Coach Mark Trakh in the opening round of the DePaul Moran Realty Classic at Chicago.

Despite a 32.8% shooting effort from the field, the Trojans edged Massachusetts by forcing 31 turnovers and collecting 18 steals.

Texas Christian 65, UCLA 50 -- The Bruins lost their season opener in the Miami Jam tournament at Miami.

The difference was Texas Christian’s three-point shooting. The Horned Frogs shot 52% from beyond the arc, making 11 of 21 attempts. The Bruins were five of 19 from the three-point line.

UCLA managed to hold All-American Sandora Irvin to eight points, but she had a game-high 13 rebounds. The Bruins were led by Lisa Willis, who scored 15 points.