College men’s basketball: ‘Eaters travel to Pauley

Richard Dunn

LOS ANGELES - Following a turnover-plagued loss at the University

of San Diego, the UC Irvine men’s basketball team will take the floor in

a marquee nonconference matchup today at 1 p.m. against UCLA at Pauley

Pavilion.

After the visiting Anteaters lost Tuesday to USD, 63-52, UCI Coach Pat

Douglass said his squad (5-3) will need to “take care of the ball and

rebound” against the Bruins (4-2), the 17th-ranked team in the country.

“I would like to see us play well for 40 minutes,” added Douglass,

referring to UCI’s 23 turnovers against San Diego, including 14 in the

first half.

The Anteaters, playing for the first time Tuesday in 10 days because

of final exams, couldn’t overcome their mistakes as they fell on the

Toreros’ floor.

In the first half, UCI had just one turnover in the opening 8:18, but

turned the ball over five times in a 2 1/2-minute span, including three

straight possessions.

UCLA, which features potentially one of the biggest lineups in the

nation, is coming off a victory over Alabama, 79-57, in the Wooden

Classic.

The Bruins, who lead the all-time series against the Anteaters, 3-2,

defeated UCI last year, 65-60, at Pauley.

Junior forward Jason Kapono leads the Bruins in scoring at 21.5 ppg,

followed by sophomore forward T.J. Cummings (12 ppg) and senior guard

Billy Knight (11.7).

Senior forward Matt Barnes, UCLA’s leading rebounder at 6.7 boards per

outing, reaggravated his left ankle during practice Thursday and will

miss at least a week, UCLA Coach Steve Lavin said.

Lavin said he would probably wait until today to determine the change

in UCLA’s starting lineup.

UCI is led by senior guard Jerry Green, who entered the week ranked

No. 5 nationally in scoring and is averaging 23.8 ppg through the

Anteaters’ first eight games.

Green, with 1,532 career points, ranks third on the all-time UCI

scoring list, after moving ahead of Wayne Engelstad in Tuesday’s loss at

San Diego, where Green was held in check (16 points) by the Toreros’

defense.

The UCLA-UCI series started in 1986, when the Anteaters won a

first-round NIT contest, 80-74. UCLA won in 1987, then UCI defeated the

Bruins again in 1988 at the Bren Events Center, 91-90. UCI lost to the

Bruins in the 1990 Great Alaska Shootout and last year.