Men’s basketball: UCI wins again

Amara Aguilar

BREN EVENTS CENTER - There were no last-minute rallies this time.

No game-winning shots. No falling behind by large margins in the second

half.

In fact, the Anteaters didn’t trail at all after the break and led by

as many as 25 points en route to a 72-53 victory over UC Riverside in a

Big West Conference men’s basketball game Saturday night.

Blowouts have not been the norm at home for the Anteaters (10-4, 3-0

in the Big West). They overcame seven-point deficits in the second half

against Long Beach State on Dec. 22 to win, 75-69, and Cal State

Fullerton to pull out a 68-58 victory Thursday. The Anteaters also

rallied from an 18-point deficit with under 10 minutes left in the game

to come away with a 74-69 win over UC Davis on Dec. 1.

“We’re generally not very comfortable with the lead,” UCI Coach Pat

Douglass said. “By far this (contest against Riverside) is the best game

we have played, for the duration of the game. We got excellent guard play

and that’s what we’ve been looking for.”

UCI was led by sophomore 7-foot center Adam Parada, who matched a

career high by scoring 20 points against the Highlanders (5-7, 2-2). He

also chipped in with a game-high seven rebounds.

Parada had a key scoring run in the second half, scoring 10 straight

points for the Anteaters during a 10-5 spurt that gave UCI a 57-40

advantage with 10:55 left in the game.

“It’s huge when a post player can come in and do that,” Parada said.

“It takes pressure off the guards--Jerry Green and Mike Hood--and Jordan

Harris.”

Green, a senior guard who has scored more than 20 points in eight

games this season, had 18 points and five rebounds against UC Riverside.

Harris, a junior forward, contributed with 15 points and five rebounds.

UCI continued to build on its 57-40 lead as the minutes ticked away in

the second half.

After UC Riverside’s Mark Miller hit a two-pointer, Mike Hood made a

three-pointer to spark a 10-0 run by UCI.

Matt Okoro capped the spurt with a steal and slam dunk to give the

Anteaters their biggest advantage, 67-42, with 6:18 left to play.

“We played quality basketball for a long period of time,” Douglass

said. “It takes maturity for that. We are trying to be more sensible with

the ball. I really felt good about how we played the game.”

One area the Anteaters improved on was turnovers. UCI committed a

season-low nine against UC Riverside.

The Highlanders struggled with their shooting, making only four of 16

three-point attempts (25%) and 20 of 55 field-goal attempts (36.4%).

“I didn’t like our execution tonight,” UC Riverside Coach John Masi

said. “We needed more intensity. We haven’t been able to hit threes. We

had good looks. We have to do that.”

With the victory, the Anteaters extended their school-record winning

streak at home to 18.

Green is also looking to break a school record. He has 1,658 career

points and holds the No. 2 spot on UCI’s career scoring list.

UC Riverside assistant Coach Tod Murphy holds UCI’s top spot with

1,778 career points.