UCI can’t bottle up win in OT

Barry Faulkner

In the midst of a four-game losing streak, the Long Beach State men’s

basketball team got some help from a totally unexpected source

Saturday night against visiting UC Irvine in a Big West Conference

clash at the Pyramid.

A technical foul was assessed to UCI with 2:44 left in regulation,

after a plastic water bottle was thrown on the floor from the

direction of the UC Irvine rooting section, known as the “Completely

Insane Anteaters.” After a brief delay, and with the help of some

Long Beach rooters pointing out the guilty party, a CIA member,

wearing the group’s trademark yellow T-shirt, was escorted out of the

arena. After security conferred with game officials, identifying the

origin of the bottle as Irvine supporters, the indirect technical was

issued.

Long Beach’s Jabril Hodges sank both free throws to give the 49ers

(5-11, 3-4 in conference) their biggest lead of the night, 62-58.

The extra two points helped the 49ers eventually earn a 77-74

overtime victory that dropped the Anteaters to 9-7, 4-3.

The overtime win also negated a dramatic Mike Efevberha

three-pointer with one second left in regulation to send the game

into the extra session.

The two teams traded three-pointers to start overtime, but Long

Beach scored five straight points to take an insurmountable lead and

deny UCI a chance to regain sole possession of third place in the Big

West.

The technical, courtesy of the UCI fan, became automatic, after an

initial warning followed a beer can being thrown onto the floor

earlier in the game from an area not near the Irvine fan section.

Since the warning had been announced on the public address system,

the next instance of any object being thrown on the court would

prompt a technical foul.

Another technical on UCI Coach Pat Douglass, just more than two

minutes into the second half, aided a 49er comeback that eventually

erased an impressive early UCI lead.

Anteater sophomore Ross Schraeder, making his first start in 12

games, hit three three-pointers to spark a 14-1 game-opening run for

the visitors, who went on to forge a 22-4 lead with 12:56 left in the

first half.

But Long Beach, kept its composure and kept battling.

The 49ers took their first lead with 13:03 left in regulation when

Kevin Roberts sank an 18-foot jumper.

There were seven ties and five lead changes the rest of the way,

before Irvine, with 14 of its 24 turnvoers after halftime, helped the

hosts overcome the seemingly catastrophic slow start.

“After we got up, it seemed like we played like we were on the

road,” Douglass said. “We tried to establish something inside, but we

seemed to travel and turn the ball over and we couldn’t get the kind

of shots we needed.” Adam Parada, UCI’s 7-foot senior center,

finished with a team-high 17 points and also added eight rebounds.

His two free throws with 33 seconds left in regulation helped keep

the Anteaters in it. But some costly misses from the line, like the

two technical fouls that produced four Long Beach points, eventually

proved costly.

Matt Okoro missed a pair from the line with 49 seconds left in

regulation and Stanislav Zuzak, who sat out the first half with what

Douglass termed a sore foot, missed the first of three free throws

with eight ticks left in regulation, forcing Efevberha, who beat UC

Riverside at home Jan. 15 with a last-second three ball from almost

the exact same spot, to come through to push the game into the

five-minute overtime session.

Douglass lamented the technical on the UCI fan.

“You want fan support, but you don’t want that kind. And it

happened at a critical time. But we fought back.” Long Beach Coach

Larry Reynolds was happy to accept any help the technical offered.

“In a tight game, all the points you can get obviously help,”

Raynolds said. “If we’re going to get a break or two, we’re going to

take it. I won’t give them those two points back.” Hodges led the

winners with 17 points, 14 after halftime, while freshman Lucian

Graham added 17 points, including hitting 4 of 6 three-point

attempts. Graham, whose 11 first-half points were crucial in keeping

the 49ers close, had a previous career high of seven points.

Schraeder finished with 16 points, one off his career high, while

Efevberha added 14. Jeff Gloger chipped in 10 points, 10 rebounds,

six assists and four steals, but it wasn’t enough for UCI to avert

its fourth loss in five games on an opponent’s home floor.

ZOTS -- UC Irvine’s loss Saturday, combined with UC Santa

Barbara’s 76-56 setback at the University of the Pacific, helped UCI

retain a share of third place in the Big West Conference ... The UCI

road swing continues with visits to conference-leading Utah State

(Thursday) and Idaho (Saturday). Utah State ( 15-1, 7-0 in the Big

West), off to the best start in school history, enters on a 12-game

winning streak, its longest since 2000-01. The Aggies entered

Saturday’s action leading the conference in scoring (tied), scoring

defense, field-goal percentage (52.4), rebounding defense and

three-point shooting defense ... UCI senior Stanislav Zuzak didn’t

start Saturday, after being the only Anteater to start the first 15

games. He had five points in 17 minutes ... UCI sophomore Ross

Schraedermade his first start in 12 games and took full advantage. He

hit his first four field-goal attempts, including three

three-pointers and had 11 of his 16 points in the first 7:04 of the

game ... UCI senior center Adam Parada entered Saturday’s action

ranked No. 1 in the conference in blocked shots (1.5 per game) and

No. 2 in field-goal percentage (62.1, behind Utah State’s Nate Harris

69.8).

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Big West Conference

Long Beach State 77, UC Irvine 74

UC Irvine - Okoro 2, Parada 17, Efevberha 14, Gloger 10, Schraeder 16, Ethington 8, Zuzak 5, Baskauskas 2. 3-pt. goals - Schraeder 4, Efevberha 3, Gloger 2, Zuzak 1. Fouled out - Gloger. Technicals - Coach Douglass 1, UCI fan 1. Long Beach State -

Roberts 13, Darby 8, M. Jackson 3, Hodges 18, Houston 9, L. Graham 17, Pearson 7, Jenkins 2. 3-pt. goals - L. Graham 4, Hodges 2, Houston 1. Fouled out - None. Technicals - None. Halftime - UCI, 37-26. Regulation - 68-68.

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