UC Irvine Goes Extra Miles--Only to Lose to Hofstra
Rod Baker stood in the hallway outside the locker room searching for answers. There were none.
The UC Irvine basketball team had traveled 3,000 miles to play Hofstra, and basically wasted the plane fare.
It wasn’t the 77-67 nonconference loss that bothered Baker as much as the Anteaters’ lack of intensity.
“We just didn’t play,” the UC Irvine coach said. “We didn’t show up.”
When it was suggested to Baker that a trip across the country was a long way to go for a flat, unemotional effort, he shrugged and said: “Tell me about it.”
Hofstra’s Butch van Breda Kolff, the former Laker coach, could tell Baker something about the frustrations of traveling. The Flying Dutchmen, who lost their conference affiliation at the end of last season when the East Coast Conference folded, had played 19 of 25 games on the road going into Monday night.
“It can wear you down,” van Breda Kolff said.
Demetrius Dudley led the Flying Dutchmen (9-17) with 27 points. Irvine (5-16) was led by Keith Stewart’s career-high 29 points.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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