UCI passes opening test

Barry Faulkner

Though, technically, the victory doesn’t count, the UC Irvine men’s

basketball team may have taken something even more noteworthy from

its 94-91 exhibition home win over the EA Sports Southwest All-Stars

Saturday night at the Bren Events Center: a supreme challenge.

“You want to play a team that stretches you and they stretched

us,” UCI Coach Pat Douglass said of the collection of former college

players, who sank 9 of 13 first-half three-pointers and led, 47-38,

at intermission.

The visitors hit another three ball to open the second half,

spurring a 7-2 run, before the Anteaters began their long climb back.

But UCI, paced by sophomore Mike Efevberha, who scored 23 of his

game-high 28 points in the second half, pulled even at 63, then again

at 72, before taking its first lead, 74-72, on a Greg Ethington

follow dunk with 7:57 left.

The two teams then traded leads before Efevberha, a 6-foot-5

swingman who averaged 5.0 points as a freshman with a high game of

17, finished the visitors off by scoring UCI’s final nine points in

the last 88 seconds.

Efevberha drove the lane for a bucket to give UCI an 87-86 lead

with 1:28 remaining, then answered an EA Sports putback with a

three-point play, on which he backed into the lane and sank an

eight-foot fallaway jumper while being fouled.

“Mike is pretty tough to guard when he gets [in deep],” Douglass

said. “We went to him [down the stretch]. He was impressive.”

Efevberha made a layup in transition, while the UCI coaches were

shouting from the bench to “Hold it!” with 23 seconds left for a

92-88 cushion.

But Chris McMillian netted EA Sports’ 14th three-pointer with 16

seconds left to pull within one.

Efevberha, who made 10 of 11 from the foul line, was fouled on the

ensuing inbounds play and converted both free throws with 15 ticks

left.

EA Sports’ desperation three-pointer sailed out of bounds with two

seconds left and UCI, with eight returning players from last year’s

20-9 unit, including three starters, mildly celebrated what could be

the first of many feel-good outcomes.

In addition to Efeverha, who came off the bench to finish 8 of 15

from the field, Douglass had praise for reserves Ross Schraeder (13

points) and Ethington (12 points and a team-high nine rebounds).

“Ross picked us up in the first half [11 points, including three

three-pointers], Efevberha played well down low and Ethington came in

and gave us some good defense,” said Douglass, who also lauded the

opponent.

“They came out making their threes in the first half,” Douglass

said. “They had some guys with a lot of talent. It was hard to tell

if it was us not playing well, or just them shooting well in the

first half. We had a problem stopping them.”

Douglass, however, said defensive intensity improved from his

team, which has developed a reputation in recent years for devouring

deficits in the final 20 minutes, particularly at home.

EA Sports shot 48.5% in the second half, including just 5 of 13

from threedom, to finish 32 of 62 (51.6%) for the game.

UCI shot 50% from the field after halftime and 45.6% for the game,

but sank 26 of 31 free throws (83.9%) and won the turnover battle,

18-10, committing just two in the second half.

Adam Parada, a 7-0 senior center, had 14 points and five rebounds

and fellow senior starter Stanislaus Zuzak was just 1 of 8 from the

field, en route to six points and five boards.

Sophomore point guard Jeff Gloger had six points, but led the team

with five assists and three steals, while senior starting forward

Matt Okoro chipped in nine points.

Former Utah standout Tony Harvey led five All-Stars in double

figures with 23 points.

ZOTS - The EA Sports Southwest All-Star team is one of five

representing the computer game company and playing exhibitions

against college teams. On the EA Sports Southeast roster is former

UCI standout Jordan Harris, as well as Estancia High product Kevin

Byrne, who played collegiately at Idaho. The Southeast team debuts

today at Penn State ... UCI Coach Pat Douglass was very familiar with

EA Southwest Coach Pete Cassidy. When Cassidy coached at Cal State

Northridge and Douglass at Cal State Bakersfield, both schools were

members of the California Collegiate Athletic Association.