UCI shoots down fear of complacency

IRVINE -- The UC Irvine men’s basketball team answered concerns that Saturday’s upset victory at No. 13 Stanford might be a tough act to follow with more than 10 minutes of shooting perfection in its home opener Tuesday against Santa Clara.

The Anteaters (3-1) made their first 13 field-goal attempts, including 10 three-pointers, before Ross Schraeder misfired from three-point range with 9:45 left in the first half.

The stunning shooting exhibition created a 36-20 lead, and UCI went on to record a 78-70 nonconference triumph.

“We came out smokin’,” UCI Coach Pat Douglass said. “We talked about [being complacent after topping Stanford], but I think the way we came out showed our guys weren’t resting on any laurels. I thought it was really impressive the way our guys responded to a challenge like that.”

The Broncos (1-1) had a response of their own, whittling the deficit to within 51-49 with 13:36 left in the game.

But UCI senior reserve Adam Metelski converted a four-foot jump hook and junior Nic Campbell added a three-pointer and a layin to extend the lead to 58-49.

Metelski answered a subsequent 4-0 spurt by the visitors with a follow shot with 9:05 remaining and the Broncos never got closer than five points.

“I thought we got kind of caught up in more offense than defense, but I thought we gutted it out in the second half and we grinded the game out,” Douglass said.

After making 14 of their first 15 shots, including 11 of 12 from three-point range, the Anteaters missed 10 of their final 11 shots before halftime to finish the half at a mere 57.7% from the field (15 of 26). They shot 64.7% from beyond the arc (11 of 17) before intermission.

“What can you say, we weren’t missing,” said Campbell, who hit four of his five three-point tries and was 7 of 9 from the field to finish with 18 points.

Aaron Fitzgerald, who had 17 of his team-high 25 points in the opening half, said he also enjoyed his team’s head-scratching accuracy to open the contest.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Fitzgerald, who was responsible for half of the ‘Eaters first 10 three balls. “I think we just ran our offense. We got open shots and knocked them down.”

Fitzgerald finished 5 of 7 from three-point range, and Schraeder hit 3 of his 6 three-point tries. Shamar Armstrong and Adam Templeton also added threes for the winners, whose 15 three-pointers were one shy of a school record.

“I think one of the characteristics this team has is that it’s a pretty good shooting team,” Douglass said.

After making just 2 of 18 three-point attempts in a season-opening loss to George Mason, the Anteaters have connected on 34 of 57 three-point tries for a blistering 59.6%.

The hot shooting has helped create a three-game winning streak, heading into Saturday’s visit to Pepperdine.

But the Anteaters have shown they can do more than play H-O-R-S-E.

“I thought in the second half, we did a better job of getting the ball inside,” Douglass said.

Douglass said Metelski (four points and three rebounds) and junior Mark Kelley (four points and eight rebounds) gave the Anteaters a lift.

Darren Fells, the Big West Conference Player of the Week after leading the way at Stanford, had a team-high nine rebounds to go with his six points.

Schraeder had a team-high five assists.

“[Fitzgerald] had a remarkable game,” Douglass said.

The Broncos -- who had just seven turnovers to UCI’s 15 -- were led by senior forward Travis Niesen, a product of Mission Viejo High. Niesen had a game-high 26 points, including 7 of 7 from the free-throw line.

Santa Clara attempted the only two free throws of the first half, but the game turned physical, producing 30 combined second-half free throws.

UCI was 10 of 15 from the line, including 4 of 4 in the final 62 seconds.

Nonconference

UC Irvine 78,

Santa Clara 70

Santa Clara -- Niesen 26, Henke 12, Denison 4, Angley 12, Rohe 5, Johnson 7, Kaempf 2, Bryant 2.

3-pt. goals -- Henke 2, Angley 2, Niesen 1, Rohe 1, Johnson 1.

Fouled out -- None.

Technicals -- None.

UC Irvine -- Campbell 18, Fells 6, Armstrong, 3, Fitzgerald 25, Schraeder 13, Metelski 4, Kelley 4, Templeton 3, Price 2.

3-pt. goals -- Fitzgerald 5, Campbell 4, Schraeder 3, Armstrong 1, Templeton 1.

Fouled out -- None.

Technicals -- None.

Halftime -- UCI, 41-34.