Strong defense leads to UCI win

MEN’S WATER POLO

UC Irvine 5, Pepperdine 4

LOS ANGELES — Seventh-seeded UC Irvine edged No. 6 Pepperdine in a consolation game of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament at UCLA’s Spieker Aquatics Center on Saturday.

With the win, UCI faces eighth-seeded Pacific in the fifth-place match at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

Trent Baxter led the Anteaters with two goals, and Mitch Wise, Nick Pfeil and Winston Newland also scored. Newland’s score in the third quarter ended up as the game-winner.

Goalkeeper Jimmy Friedrich finished with 12 saves for UCI, which is 1-1 this season against Pacific, losing, 10-7, and winning, 10-9.

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WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

Los Angeles Pierce def. Orange Coast

LOS ANGELES — The No. 8-seeded Pirates nearly upset top-seeded L.A. Pierce in the second round of the Southern California Regional playoffs Saturday.

L.A. Pierce ended OCC’s season with a 25-18, 21-25, 19-25, 25-23, 15-8 victory and improved to 29-0 on the season. The Pirates ended their season at 17-5.

Karlee Riggs led OCC with 19 kills. Allison Lumsden had 45 assists and Andi Frisina finished with 15 digs.

“We worked hard, we played hard, but we just ran out of time,” OCC Coach Chuck Cutenese said.

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WOMEN’S SOCCER

Santiago Canyon 2, Orange Coast 1

ORANGE — Orange Coast College’s remarkable run in the Southern California Regional playoffs came to an end Saturday as the host Hawks (21-1-1) hung on to advance to their fourth State Final Four appearance in six years.

No. 16-seed OCC (14-5-4) had pulled off a pair of upsets to reach the Southern California semifinals, including a 1-0 victory against top-seeded Cerritos in the first round, but No. 4 Santiago scored in the 36th and 39th minutes to put the Pirates in a steep hole.

Natalie Seroka assisted on Emma Pridmore’s goal just before halftime to pull OCC within a goal, but the Pirates couldn’t score the equalizer in the second half.

Goalkeeper Katie O’Banion had five saves for OCC.

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MEN’S BASKETBALL

Alaska-Anchorage 77, UC Irvine 63

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Anteaters fell to 0-3 at the Great Alaska Shootout following Saturday’s setback at Sullivan Arena.

Alaska-Anchorage finished the game on a 29-11 run, dropping UCI to 0-6 on the season.

Junior guard Daman Starring led the Anteaters with 21 points, the third time in his last four games he’s eclipsed the 20-point mark. Derick Flowers and Will Davis II each added nine points off the bench for UCI, which next faces visiting San Diego at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Bren Events Center.

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Vanguard 67, Pacific Union 54

COSTA MESA — The Lions outscored Pacific Union, 42-29, after the teams were tied at the half Saturday at the Vanguard Thanksgiving Classic.

Christopher Kupets led Vanguard (5-3) with 16 points and Cameron Khoury added 12 points and 12 rebounds in just 17 minutes.

Josh Jewett led Pacific Union (0-8) with 16 points and nine rebounds.

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Citrus College 107, Orange Coast College 83

GLENDORA — The Pirates fell to 2-4 on the season following Saturday’s setback at the Neil Edwards Classic hosted by Citrus College.

Citrus (6-0) — ranked No. 1 in Southern California, No. 2 in state and No. 8 in the country — led, 60-44, at the half and never looked back.

Will Ligon led OCC with 18 points, Zach Matar added 17, Darnell Banks had 15 and Jason Payne rounded out Pirate scorers in double figures with 13.