Anteaters up for exhibition

Barry Faulkner

The competitive debut of the 2004-05 UC Irvine men’s basketball team

turned out to be more an update on the familiar than an introduction

to the fresh faces that dot the Anteater roster.

Junior returner Jeff Gloger showed he just may relish his shift

from point guard to a wing, while 6-foot-8 senior Greg Ethington

displayed his frontline prowess in an 84-62 exhibition win over

visiting Simon Fraser Saturday.

In addition, junior sharpshooter Ross Schraeder showed his

shooting touch did not vanish in the off-season.

Gloger, who connected on all nine of his field-goal attempts,

finished with a game-high 22 points and 13 rebounds. He also added

four assists and one steal to earn the praise of UCI Coach Pat

Douglass.

“It was quite a performance,” said Douglass, who revealed his

team’s overall inexperience by actually coaching his players through

warmup drills.

“Our three returning [starters] have stood out in practice and

they showed that again tonight.”

Ethington had 14 points and seven rebounds, including five at the

offensive end, and scored six consecutive points to help snap the

hosts out of a small second-half lull.

Ethington’s outburst, which included two putbacks and a dunk,

sparked a 10-0 run that regained control for the Anteaters, after the

NAIA school from British Columbia, Canada had sliced what was once a

28-point deficit to 66-52.

Schraeder’s 16 points included four three-pointers as the

Anteaters shot 50.8% from the field (32 of 63).

“I’m sure I’m going to miss some shots [this season],” Gloger

said. “I wanted to come out and have a good performance, both

individually and collectively as a team.”

Junior newcomer Aaron Fitzgerald, a transfer with stops at

Washington State and Portland State, before playing last season at a

community college in Texas, had a game-high nine assists. He also

showed snippets of being a catalyst for what Douglass believes will

be a more up-tempo offensive approach.

“I thought Aaron was effective at times in the middle of our

break,” Douglass said.

Fitzgerald, whose only points came on a second-half three-pointer,

wasn’t the only newcomer to make an impression.

Darren Fells, a 6-7 true freshman hit 2 of 3 from the field and 3

of 4 from the line for seven points and also collected six rebounds.

Adam Metelski, a 6-10, 270-pound junior transfer from a Texas

community college, had eight points and three boards, while junior JC

transfer Shamar Armstrong was 3 of 6 from three-point range to

account for his nine points.

Patrick Sanders, a redshirt freshman, had four points and two

boards and 6-9 sophomore Andrew Bruckner chipped in one point and

three rebounds.

“For having seven new kids who have not played a game with us, I

thought that was pretty good,” Douglass said. “It’s the early season

and there are some things we can improve on. But I thought we played

with energy and I thought we showed more quickness on the perimeter

than we had last year.”

The Anteaters’ aggressive man-to-man defense helped hold the

visitors to 25% shooting in the first half (7 of 28).

But after a Gloger follow shot put the Anteaters up, 56-33, with

14:13 left in the game, Simon Fraser (2-9) began finding some

offensive flow for a 9-2 run.

“This time of year, it’s hard to sustain that defensive effort for

a whole game,” Douglass said. “We had it early. Then, we had to

emphasize it again with a couple of timeouts and I thought our kids

responded.”

ZOTS -- The Anteaters encountered a depleted Simon Fraser squad

that has seen five of its top seven scorers from last season quit the

team since June. Clan head coach Scott Clark has also taken a leave

of absence from the program, leaving assistant Rich Chambers to guide

the school’s nine available players Saturday, one day after a 97-48

loss at UCLA ... Among the announced crowd of 889 Saturday was former

Anteater guard Mike Efevberha, who was dismissed from the team in

June ... Also on hand was Bill Czech, who coached Fells at Fullerton

High ... UCI plays Cal State Los Angeles in another home exhibition

game Thursday at 7:05 p.m., before opening the season Nov. 19 at home

against Cal State Dominguez Hills.

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Exhibition

UC Irvine 84, Simon Fraser 62

Simon Fraser -- Christensen 11, Charleton 10, Mander 19, Mayott 10, MacIver 8, Shabibi 2, Zwierzewicz 2. 3-pt. goals -- Mander 5, MacIver 2, Charleton 1, Christensen 1. Fouled out -- Charleton, Unaegbu. Technicals -- None. UC Irvine -- Ethington 14,

Metelski 8, Gloger 22, Schraeder 16, Fitzgerald 3, Fells 7, Armstrong 9, Sanders 4, Bruckner 1. 3-pt. goals -- Schraeder 4, Armstrong 3, Gloger 1, Fitzgerald 1. Fouled out -- None. Technicals -- None. Halftime -- UCI, 42-21.

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