‘Eaters in the ‘ready’ mode

Steve Virgen

If the UC Irvine men’s basketball team closes out the second half

of the season like it did in the second half Monday, a third-straight

Big West Conference tile could possibly be coming for Coach Pat

Douglass and his Anteaters.

UCI (6-3) won its third straight game after scoring the first 10

points in the first three minutes of the second half, which led to an

87-70 nonconference win over Florida Atlantic in front of 1,444 at

the Bren Events Center.

For the second straight game, six players scored in double figures

for UCI, which has won six of its last seven.

“We came out and played well in the second half,” said Douglass,

whose team closed out the nonconference season. “I think we have made

some strides, but the Big West is a different season.”

Florida Atlantic (4-8) grabbed just its second lead of the game,

33-32, with 1:34 remaining in the first half. But UCI responded by

scoring the last four points of the half and then opened with its

electric start in the first three minutes of the second half.

UCI sophomore Greg Ethington, who made his third straight start,

scored four points in the 10-0 run, while Jordan Harris’ dunk with

just 2:05 spent in the second half led the Anteaters to a 45-33 lead

and prompted Florida Atlantic to call a timeout. Harris, who led UCI

with 18 points, grabbed a long rebound near midcourt and sped out on

the break to finish with a two-handed jam at the other end.

UCI’s lone true freshman Mike Efevberha, who scored 14 points,

also parked the Anteaters in the second half. He knocked down two

consecutive three-pointers that softened up the Owls’ defense and

gave UCI a 55-41 lead, with 14:03 left. After his two threes,

Efevberha drew two defenders to the top of the arc, but he quickly

found UCI 7-foot junior center Adam Parada down low for an easy two.

“He plays with a lot of confidence,” Douglass said of Efevberha,

who seems to have found a permanent spot in the starting lineup.

“Mike is definitely not bashful to take the shot.”

In addition to Harris and Efevberha reaching double figures,

Parada (13 points), Mike Hood (11), Stanislav Zuzak (10) and Matt

Okoro (10) did the same. Parada, Hood and Zuzak came off the bench to

make their contributions.

With one statement, Douglass put to rest the reasons for a

somewhat quirky starting lineup, that he initiated three games ago.

“We split up the minutes, so it doesn’t matter who really starts,”

Douglass said. “(The starting lineup of Ethington, Harris, Okoro,

Efevberha and Douglass) picks up our defense. If also keeps Adam out

of foul trouble.”

UCI’s defense maintained intensity throughout the night, Douglass

said. The Anteaters forced Florida Atlantic into 14 turnovers and held the Owls to 32.1% shooting from the field. Meanwhile, UCI shot

50.8% from the field, picking up from where it left off Saturday when

the Anteaters shot 62% in the first half en route to a 96-79 win over

Indiana-Purdue, Fort Wayne.

“Throughout the ballgame our energy was good,” Douglass said.

“Mike Hood gave us a spark off the bench. We were really playing hard

in the second half.”

The Owls, who were led by Earnest Crumbley’s 22 points, stayed

close in the first half. Crumbley, who went 5 for 9 from beyond the

arc, guided the offense and kept the Owls within reach. The Anteaters

failed to take advantage of their free-throw opportunities, shooting

3 of 10 from the foul line in the first 10 minutes. UCI finished 18

of 28 from the free-throw line led by Harris, who hit 6 of 8.

After the Anteaters’ early second-half surge, the Owls responded

with a 6-2 run that brought the deficit to 49-39, with 14:55 left.

But UCI went on a 10-2 run, which included Efevberha’s three-pointers

and a slam dunk by Parada off an assist by Okoro.

UCI will open its Big West schedule with three games on the road,

beginning with Long Beach State, Saturday at 7:05 p.m.