Fitzgerald Thrusts Irvine Past Idaho

The limelight found UC Irvine’s Aaron Fitzgerald, or he found it, depending on one’s point of view.

The Big West Conference tournament may not be the center of the men’s college basketball universe -- it may be more like Pluto -- but Fitzgerald was quite capable of being a big fish in a small pond Wednesday. His 30 points, which included a key three-point basket, allowed the Anteaters to hold off Idaho, 80-67, in a first-round game in the Anaheim Convention Center.

Fitzgerald, a junior guard, made nine of 15 shots, including six of 11 three-pointers. His last was the biggest, coming after the Vandals (8-22) had cut a 13-point Irvine lead to three with 2 minutes 26 seconds left. It put the Anteaters (16-12) back on track and gave Fitzgerald a career high in points.

“Aaron likes the big stage,” Anteater Coach Pat Douglass said. “He just needs to learn that every game is on a big stage. Maybe he’ll realize that every game in this tournament is big and have a remarkable tournament.”

That theory will be tested tonight when the Anteaters face Cal State Northridge in the quarterfinals. The Matadors, the tournament’s fourth-seeded team, will present a greater challenge than Idaho, which lost its last eight games and 11 of its last 12.

But Irvine would be happy to duplicate against Northridge elements of Wednesday’s game.

Darren Fells had 10 points and a team-high 12 rebounds off the bench, as the Anteaters had a 50-25 rebound edge. Idaho’s reserves combined for three points and one rebound. Irvine’s Jeff Gloger scored 12 points, and Greg Ethington scored 10.

Fitzgerald had 16 points in the first half as Irvine took a 38-36 lead at the break. Dillan Higdon had 19 points for Idaho, 15 in the first half.

After a heated exchange with Idaho’s Dandrick Jones early in the second half, Fitzgerald scored nine of the Anteaters’ next 11 points, giving them a 58-53 lead.

“Aaron has his own plan out there,” Douglass said. “Sometimes he lets me know what it is.”