Colleges: Highs and lows of UCI hoops

Amara Aguilar

UC Irvine showcased the best and worst in its two basketball

programs last week.

The UCI men’s team is the best in the Big West Conference after

earning a thrilling victory over host Utah State Thursday.

Senior guard Jerry Green had 31 points and hit a jumper at the buzzer

that lifted the Anteaters over the Aggies, 67-66. UCI snapped Utah

State’s 31-game win streak at home.

Two days later, the Anteaters continued their success on the road with

a 92-54 win over Idaho.

UCI (12-4, 5-0 in the Big West) is the only undefeated team in

conference play.

The women’s team is not fairing so well. The Anteaters (4-10, 1-2)

were blown out by UC Riverside, 77-47, Jan. 5 and fell to Long Beach

State, 91-60, Thursday.

They are seventh in conference ahead of Cal State Fullerton (2-12,

0-3) and Idaho (6-9, 0-4).

“I just don’t think we have found ourselves,” UCI Coach Mark Adams

said. “We really don’t have an identity yet as a team. We’re not a great

defensive team like we were last year. Offensively, we are hit and miss.

There is just no consistency in either area.”

That doesn’t sound good. The middle of the season is not a good time

to have an identity crisis.

Although the Anteaters won their first game of the regular season,

they went on to lose eight straight. The squad stopped the skid with

three straight wins before ending up on the losing end of blowouts to

Riverside and Long Beach.

“We won three in a row and we got a little complacent,” Adams said.

“We didn’t play that well against Cal State Fullerton and we still won

and then we went over to Riverside and absolutely tanked. I didn’t feel

like we competed at all. We just turned the ball over too much.”

The Anteaters are still without starters Lisa Faulkner and Wendy

Gabbe. Both have lower-leg stress fractures.

“We need to overcome stuff like that,” Adams said. “We can’t use that

as an excuse as to why we are not doing well. We have got to figure out a

way to win without them.”

Adams said Gabbe is one of the team’s top shooters. She is averaging

9.6 points in five contests. Faulkner provided support for the Anteaters

vocally, something the team is seriously lacking now.

“I think Faulkner had taken that role a little bit,” Adams said. “Even

though she was a freshman, she came in and she was somebody that, because

she knows the game pretty well, they looked up to. She was able to tell

them what needed to be done and bring them all together. There’s nobody

out there right now that does that.”

A team shouldn’t have to depend on a freshman to lead it. There are

five seniors on UCI’s squad: Cindy Oparah, Brandy Hudson, Jana Ciperova,

Lisa Woznick and Erin Tomlinson.

Oparah leads the team in scoring (15.3) and rebounding (10.5), but a

true team leader doesn’t just lead with stats. A true team leader gets a

team going when it is down and brings players together when they need a

spark.

“Cindy is her consistent self,” Adams said. “Day to day she is the

most reliable person out there. Brandy had done very well for us. The

other night she got five fouls in 14 minutes. You can’t play when you get

five fouls in 14 minutes.”

Hudson is second in scoring (9.6 ppg). Ciperova is averaging 7.5 ppg

and Woznick is averaging 6.4 ppg. Tomlinson (1.8 ppg) is at the bottom of

the list as far as points per game go.

“Jana shot the ball well against Marist and Detroit and the last two

games, she hasn’t shot the ball well at all,” Adams said. “Erin in not

shooting the ball well at all. (Woznick) shot the ball well in those

three games that we won and then we go into Riverside and she only shoots

the ball three times. Some of our seniors are not doing what we thought

they would do this year.”

Adams said the team does well in practice, but their mentality changes

and self-confidence diminishes during games.

“We can’t figure it out really,” Adams said. “We are trying to put

them under more pressure situations in practice so that there are similar

conditions in the game. You can’t completely mirror that type of

pressure, but we are trying. There is no transference from practice to

games. There are just completely different mentalities.”

It sounds like this team is struggling for answers and needs a

dramatic change, whether it’s in the players’ attitudes or coaches’

directions.

The one bright spot: At least the Anteaters are not giving up.

“We are not by any means folding up the tent and going home,” Adams

said. “We practiced hard (last week). They are still hungry and want to

do well and believe they can do well. We are just going to keep working

hard and we are not giving up.”

Vanguard University men’s basketball player Damion Morbley was

recently named Golden State Athletic Conference Athlete of the Week.

The senior forward scored 20 points and pulled down 10 rebounds

against The Master’s College in Vanguard’s 77-74 road win Jan. 2.

He also collected 23 points and 17 rebounds against visiting Hope

International in the Lions’ 94-74 win Jan. 5.

Morbley is in his first year with the Lions’ basketball team. He

previously attended Cal State Northridge.

This week, the Lions (9-9, 5-4 in the GSAC) visit Christian Heritage

College Tuesday at 8 p.m.

The Vanguard women’s basketball team (9-6, 6-3) will travel to

Christian Heritage College Tuesday for a 6 p.m. game.

The Lions picked up a big 68-59 win over Point Loma Nazarene Tuesday

at The Pit. Point Loma was first in the GSAC going into the contest.

“I think we can give an assist to Coach Mike Krzyzewski, the Duke

basketball coach, because I’ve been reading one of his books,” Vanguard

Coach Russ Davis said. “He talks about giving his kids confidence in

shooting. I’ve been sharing some quotes from him and his book to our

team. The things he has done with his team has inspired us.”

The UCI men’s volleyball team (2-1) defeated USC Saturday, 27-30,

31-29, 31-29, 31-29, in the Wyndham West Coast Challenge at UCI. Erick

Helenihi led all players with 23 kills.

USC’s roster featured a couple of former local players, senior Greg

Burden (Corona del Mar High) and red shirt freshman Blake Tippett

(Newport Harbor High).

The Anteaters visit UC Santa Barbara Friday at 7 p.m.

UCI men’s tennis kicks off the season on the road against Furman

Friday, Notre Dame Saturday and Michigan Sunday.

Sophomore Jon Endrikat ranks 74th in the nation in singles, the

highest UCI individual ranking since current assistant coach Steve

Tallakson was 70th in 1997.

Endrikat and freshman Brian Morton rank 27th in the nation in doubles.

The UCI men’s basketball team faces University of the Pacific Thursday

and Cal State Northridge Saturday.

Both games start at 7:05 p.m. at the Bren Events Center. UCI will look

to extend its school record 18-game win streak at home.

The UCI women’s basketball team will return home after a three-game

road trip to face Idaho Tuesday at 7 p.m.