UCI ends road losing streak with convincing win

Barry Faulkner

SANTA CLARA -- Things finally came together on the road for the UC

Irvine men’s basketball team, but not without everyone tugging on the

edges.

The Anteaters, who had lost 11 straight road games and gone nearly

two calendar years without a nonconference road victory, knocked off

host Santa Clara, 70-58, Tuesday night in front of 1,729 at the Leavy

Center.

“Overall, it was a great team victory,” UCI Coach Pat Douglass

said. “I thought Aaron Fitzgerald played really smart in the second

half. You need that kind of play from your point guard to win on the

road.”

Fitzgerald, a junior transfer, made four three-pointers in the

second half en route to a game-high 17 points.

Three of his long-distance connections came during a 19-6 UCI run

that answered an 8-0 spurt by the Broncos (6-4) that spanned the end

of the first half and the start of the second.

Senior center Greg Ethington scored eight of his 14 points during the 19-6 surge, but Santa Clara, which defeated North Carolina and

Stanford this season, chipped away at the lead.

Ethington, who led the winners (3-2) with nine rebounds and made

two of their four blocks, fouled out with 3:13 left and the visitors

ahead by one.

Tristain Parham, who scored while drawing the lone UCI senior’s

fifth foul, missed the subsequent free throw and UCI scored nine

straight to run away.

Freshman Darren Fells (six points, six rebounds and two steals)

converted a Jeff Gloger assist into a back-door layup to make it

59-56 with 2:57 remaining.

Junior Adam Metelski, filling in for Ethington, had five of his

career-high seven points in the final 1:39. He also finished with

seven rebounds.

Ross Schraeder (14 points) hit 8 of 8 free throws, including six

in the final minute, while Gloger, coming off the bench for the first

time all year, chipped in eight points.

“I thought [Gloger] really gave us some good defense,” said

Douglass, who also credited the defense of Nic Campbell.

UCI had just four of its 13 turnovers after intermission and the

‘Eaters’ dogged defense prompted Santa Clara to shoot just 28.6

percent in the final 20 minutes (10 for 35, 2 of 12 from threedom).

Douglass pled ignorance regarding the road losing skein, asking a

reporter, “I don’t know, how many it had been?”

Fitzgerald, who made 6 of 13 field-goal attempts, 5 of 10 from

beyond the arc, was all smiles afterward.

“We had smart guard play and our big men were very physical,” said

Fitzgerald, who matched Schraeder with five assists.

“I missed a couple [shots] in the first half, but I got going in

the second half,” said Fitzgerald, who glanced defiantly at the

Bronco student rooting section after two of his critical three balls.

“[A hostile crowd] definitely gets me going,” he said.

“This win gives a lot of confidence to a lot of people on our

team.”

UCI will try to keep that positive feeling alive when it visits

San Jose State Friday night.

*--*

Nonconference

UC Irvine 70, Santa Clara 58

UCI -- Campbell 2, Fells 6, Ethington 14, Fitzgerald 17, Schraeder 14, Gloger 8, Sanders 2, Metelski 7, Baker 0, Armstrong 0.

3-pt. goals -- Fitzgerald 5, Schraeder 2.

Fouled out -- Ethington.

Technicals -- None.

Santa Clara -- Parham 8, Niesen 8, Angley 6, Bailey 13, Perkins 13, Dougherty 0, Henke 4, Borchart 1, Rohde 5, Legge 0.

3-pt. goals -- Angley 1, Bailey 3, Rohde 1.

Fouled out -- Parham.

Technicals -- Niesen.

Halftime -- 31-31.

*--*