Men’s basketball: UCI takes on UC Riverside

BREN EVENTS CENTER - There hasn’t been much emphasis on it, but

there is a streak that continues to grow for the UC Irvine men’s

basketball team.

The Anteaters (9-4, 2-0 in the Big West Conference) have won a school

record 17 straight games at home. Tonight, on the UCI campus, they will

look to extend the streak in a Big West duel against UC Riverside (5-6,

2-1) at 7:05.

UCI is coming off a 68-58 victory over Cal State Fullerton Thursday at

the Bren and two wins at the Oneida Classic, Dec. 28-29, in Green Bay,

Wis.

The Anteaters defeated Boston University, 77-71, and Lipscomb

University, 79-62, to win the tournament.

UCI appeared slightly sluggish at times against the Titans, trailing

by as many as seven points in the second half before making a comeback.

“We were a little tired (against the Titans) because of our road

trip,” UCI Coach Pat Douglass said. “We should be more rested for UC

Riverside.”

The Highlanders are coming off a 73-67 come from behind victory over

Long Beach State at the Pyramid Thursday. UC Riverside posted its first

Big West victory on the road and has won five of its last six games.

Senior guard Jerry Green leads UCI with a 22.9 points per game scoring

average. Green recently moved into the No. 2 spot on UCI’s career scoring

list. He has 1,640 career points and only trails record holder Tod

Murphy, who piled up 1,778 while playing for the Anteaters from 1982-86.

Murphy is currently an assistant coach at UC Riverside.

Green beefed up his career point total with a game-high 18 points

against Fullerton. Adam Parada (15 points) and Jordan Harris (14 points)

also had solid efforts against the Titans.

Sophomore Vili Morton is one of UC Riverside’s top players. He leads

the Highlanders with a 12.6 points per game average.

Riverside’s Jason Perkins checks in with a 10.5 points per game

average. He is also a threat from three-point range. So far, Perkins has

made 29 of 64 three-point attempts (45.3%).

“They are a big three-point shooting team,” Douglass said.

The Anteaters have solid three-point shooters of their own in Green,

sophomore forward Stanislav Zuzak and junior guard Mike Hood.

Green has made 22 of 53 three-point attempts this season. Zuzak has

made 20 of 37 and Hood has hit 24 of 64.

Big West Conference Standings

Records Conference

UC Santa Barbara 3-0

UC Irvine 2-0

Utah State 2-1

Cal Poly 2-1

UC Riverside 2-1

Pacific 1-1

Cal State Northridge 1-1

Long Beach State 0-2

Cal State Fullerton 0-3

Idaho 0-3

Tonight’s Big West games (Jan. 5)

UC Riverside at UC Irvine, 7:05 p.m.

Cal State Fullerton at Long Beach State, 7:35 p.m.

Utah State at UC Santa Barbara, 7 p.m.

Idaho at Cal Poly, 7:05 p.m.

Pacific at Cal State Northridge, 7:05 p.m.