Colleges: Anteaters need to make Parada center of attention

Amara Aguilar

Defending UC Irvine’s 7-foot sophomore center Adam Parada isn’t

easy, but Utah State rose to the challenge in a Big West Conference men’s

basketball game Saturday night at the Bren Events Center.

The Aggies, whose tallest player is 6-9, held Parada scoreless in the

first half and took a 16-point lead at the break.

Utah State went on to win, 62-61, after the Anteaters (17-7, 10-3 in

the Big West) couldn’t sink an outside shot in their final two

possessions.

UCI Coach Pat Douglass, senior guard Jerry Green and junior guard Mike

Hood all agreed after Saturday’s contest, that the Anteaters should have

used their inside game more against the Aggies (18-4, 10-3).

Green had a shot blocked in the final seconds and Hood missed a

three-pointer as time expired to hand the Aggies the win.

“We should have got the ball inside to Parada a little bit more and we

didn’t look at him,” Douglass said.

Said Green: “We should have thrown it to Adam more. We were taking a

lot of open threes which we really weren’t making.”

Added Hood: “We struggled in the first half. Our guard play wasn’t

very good. Me and some of the other guys, we just weren’t clicking. (The

Aggies) did a good job playing defense on Parada and took us out of our

game.”

Before last week, the Anteaters’ outside shot was one of the team’s

biggest threats. Entering last week, UCI led the conference in

three-point percentage (.395) and was ranked No. 21 in the nation in that

category.

After Saturday’s game, the Anteaters dropped to third in the

conference (.377). That includes a 5-for-19 performance from three-point

range against the Aggies and an 0-for-10 showing against Idaho Thursday.

At least one guard was hitting threes on Saturday night, but it wasn’t

for UCI. Utah State senior guard Tony Brown made 5 of 6 from beyond the

arc and scored a game-high 25 points for the Aggies, who moved into a

first-place tie in conference with UCI.

“His ability to put up the numbers and our inability to guard him (was

a big factor),” Douglass said. “We didn’t take care of the ball at the

guard position.”

The Anteaters have five conference games left this season. Thursday,

UCI visits Cal State Northridge (8-13, 7-5) at 5:35 p.m. The Matadors

defeated UCI in the first round, 73-72 in overtime to snap a

school-record 19-game home winning streak. The contest will be televised

on Fox Sports Net 2. The Anteaters continue their road trip with a battle

against University of the Pacific (14-8, 6-6) Saturday at 7:05 p.m.

Lawrence Smalls, a senior on UCI’s men’s soccer team last season, was

among eight players selected by the Los Angeles Galaxy in the 2002 Major

League Soccer SuperDraft Sunday in Orlando, Fla. Smalls was selected 59th

overall.

The UCI baseball team has won six straight. Freshman Matt Anderson has

been on fire at the plate, sporting a .595 batting average in 11 games.

On the mound, freshman right-hander Michael Koehler is leading the

team in saves with four.

This week, the Anteaters (7-4) host Santa Clara in a three-game series

beginning Friday at 7 p.m. Game times are Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday

at 1 p.m.

UCI Coach John Savage is a former Santa Clara pitcher.

The UCI women’s basketball team (7-15, 4-7) hosts Cal State Northridge

Saturday at 7 p.m. The Anteaters are in fifth place while the Matadors

(2-18, 2-8) cling to seventh in the Big West.

Senior Cindy Oparah recently talked about the team’s struggles.

“I think we’re struggling with confidence as a team,” Oparah said. “We

need to trust each other. I can point out little things but if you boil

it all down, it comes down to confidence and being disciplined to do the

things that we know to do to win the game during the entire 40 minutes.

There is a lot of pressure on the coach, but it’s more individually with

each player and how they relate to the team.”

Before Saturday’s 3-1 loss to BYU, the UCI men’s volleyball team was

on a roll, winning four straight matches. The Anteaters (7-5, 3-4 in the

Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) earned wins over USC, La Verne, UC

San Diego and Princeton.

This week, UCI hosts UC Santa Barbara Wednesday at 7 p.m. and travels

to Pepperdine Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

The Anteaters were defeated by the Gauchos, 3-1, Jan. 18 and fell to

the Waves, 3-0, Jan. 26.

The UCI women’s tennis team (3-3, 2-0) has won three straight. The

Anteaters take on Pepperdine Thursday at 1:30 p.m.

“At this point I’m very happy,” UCI Coach Mike Edles said. “We’re

coming along just fine. It’s still early, but I feel like we’re playing

well. It’s going to be a tough match against Pepperdine. I think they are

ranked (No. 27) in the nation so it’s nice to have a three-match winning

streak going in.”

UCI is led by senior Jonni Seymour, ranked No. 61 in the nation in

singles by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

The doubles team of Seymour and sophomore Tiffany Chang are undefeated

in conference play.

“Doubles-wise we are on little bit of a roll,” Edles said. “They have

won their last three and are undefeated in conference play at 2-0.”

The UCI men’s tennis team lost four straight before defeating

Saddleback, 7-0, and UC Riverside, 7-0, Saturday.

The match against the Highlanders was the first in conference play for

the Anteaters (2-4, 1-0), who host UC Santa Barbara Saturday at noon.

The UCI women’s water polo team opened its second season with a 16-4

loss to top-ranked UCLA Thursday. Erica Horman had three goals to lead

the Anteaters, who host USC Friday at 4 p.m. and Biola on the same day at

5:15 p.m.

The Vanguard University men’s basketball team (12-13, 8-8 in the

Golden State Athletic Conference) has fallen into a rut, losing four

straight since defeating Biola, 75-73, Jan. 26. Biola was ranked No. 1 in

the NAIA at the time.

Tuesday, the Lions visit Point Loma University for a 7:30 p.m. game

and continue their road trip against Hope International Saturday at 8:30

p.m.

The Lions are tied for sixth place in conference and have four regular

season games remaining.

The Vanguard women’s basketball team has won three of its last four

and will visit Point Loma Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. and Hope International

Saturday at 6:30 p.m. The Lions (13-9, 10-6) are tied for third in

conference with Westmont.

Senior center Kelly Boeke has paced the Lions offensively and was

named GSAC Player of the Week for her performance last week.

In two games she averaged 15.5 points and eight rebounds. She led the

Lions with 18 points and nine rebounds in a 67-52 victory over Concordia

and had 13 points and seven boards in a 64-62 win over Westmont.

She earned the honor for the fourth time in her career. She also

reached a milestone in the Lions’ 85-69 loss to Fresno Pacific Wednesday.

Boeke scored a team-high 22 points to pass the 1,500 career-scoring mark.

She now has 1,503.

Devario Johnson was recently named Lion of the Week after he broke a

school record in the long jump with a 23-2 mark at the Azusa Pacific

Invitational track and field meet. The distance qualified Johnson for the

NAIA Indoor National Championships Feb. 28-March 2 in Johnson City, Tenn.

Johnson surpassed Phil Negrete’s Vanguard mark (22-6 1/2) set in 1998.

Vanguard runner Tony Magana recently finished second in the Pacific

Shoreline Half Marathon in Huntington Beach. He placed second overall in

1:10.15 out of 1,479 finishers.

In softball action this week, Vanguard (7-4-1) hosts Cal State

Bakersfield in a doubleheader Tuesday at 1:30 p.m., then hosts Redlands

Saturday at noon.

In Vanguard baseball action this week, the Lions (2-7) travel to The

Master’s College Tuesday in a 2:30 p.m. nonconference contest and return

home Friday for a 2 p.m. game against Concordia of Oregon.