College men’s basketball: UCI rallies past UC Riverside

RIVERSIDE - On a historic night, UC Irvine senior guard Jerry Green

tied the school’s all-time scoring record.

But it was unsung junior forward Jordan Harris and 7-foot sophomore

center Adam Parada who sparked the Anteaters in the second half Thursday

night as they rallied to defeat host UC Riverside, 72-64, in a men’s Big

West Conference basketball game before 1,163 at Student Recreation

Center.

Green scored 11 of his game-high 20 points in the first half, but the

Highlanders (6-12, 3-7 in the Big West) amassed a 35-26 halftime lead.

Green tied Tod Murphy, who was sitting on the opposing bench as a

Highlander assistant coach, with 1,778 career points.

UCI (15-6, 8-2), alone in first place after Cal State Northridge’s

74-58 loss Thursday at the University of the Pacific, came back in the

second half while dominating the offensive glass. The Anteaters outscored

the Highlanders in the second 20 minutes, 46-29, and outrebounded them,

31-22.

Irvine was tied with Northridge (8-11, 7-3), which beat UCI in

overtime in the first round of Big West play, for the conference lead

heading into Thursday’s action.

Harris made his first five shots from the field in the second half,

scoring 11 of his 16 points, including a three-pointer with 10:35 left to

give UCI a 52-49 edge, its first lead since the first half when the

‘Eaters led, 22-21.

UC Riverside came back and took a 57-53 lead, following a layup by

6-foot-8 sophomore Vili Morton, the Highlanders’ leading scorer at 11.5

ppg.

Green’s connected on a three-pointer to ignite UCI’s final surge, in

which Parada scored 10 of his 14 points in the final 5:51, including a

spectacular one-handed dunk on a putback after controlling on offensive

rebound in the air about seven feet out.

Parada, who scored 20 points and added 12 rebounds in the Anteaters’

72-53 home victory over the Highlanders Jan. 5, had all six of his

rebounds in the second half (five offensive).

Parada gave UCI the lead for good, 60-59, after sinking two free

throws with 5:51 left, the first of his 10 straight points.

Riverside’s Kevin Butler netted a three-pointer with 2:40 left to pull

the hosts within 66-64, but Parada followed with a 14-foot jump hook shot

and Green made 4 of 4 free throws in the final minute as the Highlanders

went scoreless the rest of the way.

UC Riverside, which consistently doubled-team Green, committed just

four turnovers in the first half and enjoyed a 12-2 scoring run after UCI

led, 22-21, with six minutes remaining.

“Riverside had a great effort, especially in the first half when they

got into us a bit,” UCI Coach Pat Douglass said. “We seemed a step slow

in the first half.”

Harris also paced UCI with nine rebounds, while Green also dished out

four assists and provided four steals. Green will become UCI’s all-time

leading scorer on his next point. The team travels Saturday to Cal State

Fullerton.

“I’m not focused on (the record),” Green said. “Tod was a great player

and he’s a good person, and it’s a great accomplishment, but helping my

team win games is most important.”

Irvine shot 52% from the field (27 of 52) and made 13 of 15 foul

shots. The Zots were a dismal 5 of 16 from the stripe, including 1 of 6

in the second half, in their 50-47 loss last Saturday at Cal Poly San

Luis Obispo.