Aggies shoot UCI into submission

Barry Faulkner

BREN EVENTS CENTER -- Late second-half drama had been unkind to Utah

State in its uncharacteristic 0-3 Big West Conference road start this

season.

But the visitors’ 77-52 men’s basketball triumph over UC Irvine

Thursday night, before 2,831 at the Bren Events Center, was less “Who

done it?” than “Which Aggie didn’t?” contribute to the most lopsided

UCI home loss since 1997.

“It was one of those nights,” Utah State Coach Stew Morrill said

of his team’s final visit to its familiar nemesis as a member of the

Big West. “The game always looks simple when you make shots.”

The Western Athletic Conference-bound Aggies made 18 of 25

field-goal tries after intermission (72%), including 7 for 8 from

three-point range (87.5%) to turn the often-suspenseful showdown

between respectful rivals into, well, the kind of drubbing usually

perpetrated by an oversized back-alley bully.

Utah State (14-5, 5-3 in conference), which was 1-4 on the road

coming in, scored the final seven points of the first half and the

first six of the second to turn a 27-25 deficit into an eventual

romp.

“We’ve been losing tight games on the road,” Morrill said. “It has

been frustrating, because we’ve had shots to take the lead or tie in

the final minutes of our three road losses. I didn’t expect anything

like this tonight.”

Aggie senior Spencer Nelson said it was time for his team to

exorcise its travel demons.

“I think everyone was fed up with losing on the road,” said the

6-foot-8 veteran, who scored 18 of his game-high 25 points in the

final period. “We did a great job in the second half as a team. That

was pretty close to our best half of the season. I know it was one of

our better second halves.”

UCI would likely cringe at the thought of any greater efficiency.

“[The Aggies] were pretty much on all cylinders tonight,” said UCI

Coach Pat Douglass, who upon arriving from Cal State Bakersfield

eight seasons ago, identified Utah State as the benchmark for Big

West success.

Douglass’ teams had traditionally responded to his tendency to

circle Utah State games on the schedule. The two teams’ had decided

their previous seven games by an average margin of 3.4 points, with

the perennial power from Logan earning a paltry 4-3 advantage.

But a UCI scoreless streak of 9 mintues, 53 seconds at the end of

the first half and the beginning of the second, allowed Utah State to

end the ‘Eaters’ winning streak at three.

UCI fell to 9-7, 3-5 and is tied for seventh with UC Riverside

entering Saturday’s home clash with Idaho (7-12, 5-3). The Vandals

were stunned, 53-52, at Long Beach State (3-15, 1-7) Thursday.

“[The Aggies] shot the ball real well, they executed their stuff,

we didn’t take care of the ball and we didn’t attack their zone

well,” said a shell shocked Douglass afterward. “That was the

ballgame. I don’t really know what else to say.”

Junior point guard Aaron Fitzgerald led the hosts with 18 points

and five assists, while junior guard Ross Schraeder chipped in 15

points. Both were 6 of 11 from the field, and a combined 5 of 12 from

threedom. The other Anteaters were just 1 of 8 from beyond the arc.

UCI shot 39.1% after halftime, but committed 10 of its 15

turnovers before the break. The ‘Eaters were outrebounded, 17-4, in

the final 20 minutes.

Senior Greg Ethington had all 10 points produced by the Anteaters’

starting front line, while their Utah State front-court counterparts

finished with a combined 49 points.

Junior reserve guard Chris Huber had 11 points, including 3 of 4

from three-point range, to help the visitors make 9 of 12 (75%) from

distance for the game.

UCI junior Adam Metelski made 3 of 4 field-goal tries to account

for six of the Anteaters’ nine bench points.

UCI’s worst previous home loss was an 81-47 setback to New Mexico

State, exactly 100 home contests ago.

ZOTS -- Utah State came into Thursday’s game shooting 52.4% from

the field as a team, including junior forward Nate Harris (65.4%),

senior forward Spencer Nelson (57%) and freshman guard Jaycee Carroll

(56%, including 50.5% from three-point range) ... Utah State, bound

for the Western Athletic Conference next season made its final visit

to the Bren Center as a member of the Big West Conference. The Aggies

will leave behind a trail of destruction in the Big West, since they

are the only conference member to post winning records against all

other current schools in the league. Utah State is now 225-112

against Big West foes. Counting the postseason, Utah State is 87-20

against the Big West in the last six years ... UCI junior Ross

Schraeder’s three three-pointers Thursday gave him 127 for his

career. He needs six to pass Rod Palmer (1988-90) to move into the

No. 5 spot on the school’s career three-pointer list ... UCI junior

guard Jeff Gloger’s two steals Thursday drew him within 10 of passing

Jerry Green (162 thefts from 1998-2002) as the school’s all-time

career leader ... Coming into Thursday’s game, UCI had outscored

opponents by 16 in the first half and been outscored in the second

half b y 16 for a cumulative season score of 477-477 ... UCI unveiled

a new costume for Peter the Anteater, the school’s mascot, at

halftime Thursday. The newer version is gray with black fur on the

shoulders and streaking over the eyes. The old version had brown fur

... UCI junior point guard Aaron Fitzgerald entered Thursday leading

the conference in assists (5.9 per game) and had a team-high five

against Utah State ... During its three-game winning streak that

ended Thursday, the Anteaters shot 58.6% from the field while holding

the opposition to 37.9% from the field ... Utah State is ranked No.

11 in the CollegeInsider.com mid-major top 25 poll ... Schraeder

entered Thursday shooting better from three-point range (47.8%) than

overall from the field (46.4%). He had made 21 of 48 from inside the

arc (36.2%). He is now shooting 47% from on three-pointers, as well

as overall.

Big West Conference

Utah State 77, UC Irvine 52

Utah State -- Williams 12, Nelson 25, Harris 12, Carroll 6, Pak 7,

Huber 11, Matheus 2, McVey 2.

3-pt. goals -- Huber 3, Williams 2, Nelson 2, Pak 1, Harris 1.

Fouled out -- None.

Technicals -- None.

UC Irvine -- Fells 0, Gloger 0, Ethington 10, Schraeder 15,

Fitzgerald 18, Metelski 6, Campbell 3.

3-pt. goals -- Schraeder 3, Fitzgerald 2, Campbell 1.

Fouled out -- None.

Technicals -- None.

Halftime -- Utah State, 32-27.