Reserves Step Up to Help UC Irvine

The marquee big men of the Big West Conference posted numbers that most expected Saturday afternoon, but the play of several others carried host UC Irvine to a 74-67 victory over Cal State Fullerton.

Seven-foot center Adam Parada and 6-11 teammate Stanislav Zuzak each scored 18 points to lead the Anteaters (9-6, 4-2). Despite being bothered by a sore hamstring, 6-10 center Pape Sow of Fullerton (5-9, 1-4) did a yeoman’s job with 19 points and 15 rebounds.

But Irvine’s supporting cast included six points and four rebounds in 23 minutes by forward Matt Okoro, who made his first start in six games. Starter Jeff Gloger, a 6-4 guard, had a team-high nine assists and seven rebounds, four more than Parada. Reserve guard Ross Schraeder finished with nine points and three assists and made three three-point shots, all at important junctures in the second half. And reserve forward Nic Campbell had three assists, a steal and two rebounds in 13 minutes. His three-point basket with 14 minutes 57 seconds to play helped stifle a Fullerton rally that had cut Irvine’s 14-point lead to six.

“They gave us offense off the bench that we haven’t had,” Coach Pat Douglass said.

Fullerton shot 40.9% from the field, prompting Coach Bob Burton to call it his team’s worst performance since the Titans’ 77-60 season-opening loss at Northern Arizona.

Fullerton threatened at the outset of the second half with three quick baskets, including a three-pointer by Yaphett King that made it 38-33 with 18:42 left.

-- Paul McLeod

UC Riverside 73, Long Beach State 61 -- Nate Carter scored all of his 15 points in the second half and grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds, and the Highlanders won their first road game this season.

Riverside (6-7, 3-2 Big West) bounced back after a last-second one-point loss at UC Irvine Thursday night. After Lucian Graham pulled Long Beach State to within two points with a three-pointer, Carter made consecutive baskets to spark an 11-3 run.

Long Beach State (4-11, 2-4) shot only 36.4% in losing its fourth in a row.

Louis Darby had 20 points for the 49ers, but leading scorer Kevin Roberts sat the remainder of the game after picking up a technical foul in the first minute of the second half. Roberts had seven points

“My team rule is if you get a technical, you sit for the rest of the half,” Coach Larry Reynolds said.

-- Eric Stephens

Pepperdine 88, San Diego 79 -- Glen McGowan scored 17 of his game-high 23 points in the first half and Yakhouba Diawara had 18 points to lead the Waves at San Diego.

Pepperdine (7-12, 2-2 West Coast Conference) won for only the second time in eight games and San Diego (3-14, 0-2) lost its sixth in a row.

The Waves, who shot 60% from the field, twice had 21-point leads in the second half.

Brice Vounang scored 19 points for the Toreros.

Santa Clara 70, Loyola Marymount 54 -- Sherman Gay had 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds at Santa Clara but the Lions (9-7, 1-3 WCC) fell short.

Doron Perkins scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half to lead the Broncos (11-7, 3-0), who won their third in a row.

The Broncos outscored the Lions, 15-6, on free throws.

UC Santa Barbara 78, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 59 -- Cameron Goettsche and Joe See scored 15 points apiece, and the Gauchos (9-5, 3-2 Big West) shot 50% from the field at San Luis Obispo (6-7, 1-4), which was led by Shane Schilling with 26 points.

Utah State 83, Cal State Northridge 57 -- Cardell Butler had a game-high 18 points for the Aggies (13-1, 5-0 Big West), who won their 11th in a row at home dating to last season.

Eto Onyenegecha scored 11 points for the Matadors (6-8, 2-4).