Bruins stave off Anteaters, 76-65

Barry Faulkner

The two-game preseason trek through Los Angeles ended Saturday night

the same way it began Monday for the UC Irvine men’s basketball team.

Just as it had in the first half Monday at USC, the Anteaters

outscored host UCLA, this time in the second half, by an identical

37-36 margin before 6,247 Saturday at Pauley Pavilion.

And while there was enough in between to produce victories for

both the Trojans and Bruins, the latter a 76-65 verdict, there was

also more than an inkling of promise for UCI and Coach Pat Douglass.

“We played with much more quickness in the second half,” Douglass

said of his team’s 11th straight road loss. “We have a young ballclub

and we’ve played two tough teams on the road. But I liked the way we

battled. It would have been nicer, when we cut it to three, if we

could have tied it up.”

UCI (1-2) sliced a 40-28 halftime deficit to 52-49, then 56-53,

the latter with 6:50 left in the game.

But UCLA (3-0) got back-to-back three-pointers from Dijon Thompson

and Brian Morrison, both of whom had been cold from the field leading

up to their huge three balls, and UCI never got closer than five.

Thompson hit his first two field-goal attempts, but then missed

nine of his next 10, before starting the key sequence that helped

stave off a tenacious Anteater squad.

Morrison was 0 for 6 in the game, before connecting from threedom

with 5:33 remaining.

UCI turned the ball over on its next possession, one of its 17

turnovers, and UCLA’s Aaron Afflalo passed to fellow freshman guard

Jordan Farmar for a breakaway layin that put the hosts up, 64-53,

with 5:17 left.

UCI, bidding for its first win over UCLA since 1988 (the Bruins now lead the series, 5-2), battled back with better second-half

shooting, continued control in the rebounding department, and more

energetic defense.

The emergence of junior guard Jeff Gloger, who had managed just

eight points through the first 60 minutes of play in Los Angeles,

also helped the ‘Eaters overcome a first half in which they shot just

36.7% from the field (11 of 30, including just 2 of 10 from beyond

the arc).

Gloger, scoreless in the opening half with just one field-goal

attempt, hit a 16-foot jumper and a layup, off an assist by junior

point guard Aaron Fitzgerald in transition, to trigger a 7-2 UCI run

that opened the second half.

Gloger scored seven of his 11 points in the first nine minutes

after intermission, while senior center Greg Ethington (scoreless in

nine first-half minutes after picking up his second foul just more

than two minutes into the contest) also chipped in to help erase a

virtual first-half absence of inside scoring.

Two Ethington field goals, followed by a Fitzgerald 15-footer off

an offensive rebound, drew the visitors to within 65-59 with 3:27

left.

Fitzgerald’s 16-foot jumper with 1:31 remaining drew his team

within 69-63, and Gloger followed a Thompson free throw with a

12-foot turnaround with 52 ticks left to trim the lead to five.

But Thompson sank two free throws after being fouled on the

ensuing inbound pass and junior Ryan Hollins, one of the Bruins’ two

7-foot starters, threw in a breakaway slam with 40 seconds left to

put the game out of reach.

Fitzgerald’s 17 points led the Anteaters for the third time this

season and he added a game-high five assists and four rebounds. He

made 6 of 7 free throws, but only two other ‘Eaters made it to the

line, where the visitors converted 7 of 10, compared to 21 of 27 from

the stripe for UCLA.

Schraeder had 14 points, making 6 of 13 field-goal tries, but only

2 of 7 from three-point range.

Gloger added a team-high seven rebounds to his 11 points, helping

UCI earn a 38-34 rebounding advantage.

Thompson, Afflalo and Farmar had 14 apiece for the Bruins, whose

coach was thoroughly impressed with UCI.

“We knew this was going to be a tough game for us,” UCLA Coach Ben

Howland said. “I think Irvine is going to be a problem for a lot of

people this year.”

ZOTS -- UCI is 1-2 for the fifth time in Douglass’ eight seasons

at the helm ... The Anteaters have a winning series record against

only two Pac-10 teams. They are 2-1 against Oregon and 1-0 against

Washington ... Saturday’s game was televised on Fox Sports Net 2,

with Corona del Mar High graduate Bill Macdonald handling the

play-by-play.

*--*

Nonconference

UCLA 76, UC Irvine 65

UC Irvine -- Ethington 6, Fells 4, Schraeder 14, Fitzgerald 17, Gloger 11, Armstrong 6, Metelski 4, Campbell 3.

3-pt. goals -- Schraeder 2, Fitzgerald 1, Campbell 1.

Fouled out -- None.

Technicals -- None.

UCLA -- Thompson 14, Fey 13, Hollins 6, Afflalo 14, Farmar 14, Shipp 9, Morrison 3, McKinney 3.

3-pt. goals -- Thompson 1, Afflalo 1, Farmar 1, Morrison 1, Shipp 1.

Fouled out -- None.

Technicals -- None.

Halftime -- UCLA, 40-28.

*--*