COLLEGES:

Tonight’s men’s basketball exhibition game between UC Irvine and Cal Baptist, which tips off at 7 at Crawford Court, brings an air of nostalgia.

It’s the first of two games the Anteaters will play in the 850-seat facility that used to house the basketball program before the Bren Events Center opened for the 1986-87 season. UCI will play its regular-season opener Friday against Loyola Marymount at Crawford Court, which was known as Crawford Hall until being renovated before the 2003 women’s volleyball season.

The men will tip off against LMU at 7:35 p.m. in the second game of a doubleheader. Coach Molly Tuter’s women’s basketball team plays host to New Mexico State at 5:30 p.m.

Crawford is temporarily filling in for the Bren Center, which is having a new floor installed. The Bren is expected to be ready for the men’s basketball game Nov. 17 against former Big West Conference rival Utah State.

Admission for tonight’s exhibition is free, but that isn’t the only link to a bygone era.

Seeing the ’Eaters competing in the quirky facility with stands on one side and a stage on the other, should prompt long-time UCI rooters to recall the days when the then-1,400-seat venue was regularly a house of horrors to Big West and Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. powers UNLV and Fresno State.

The last game played there was a 103-91 triumph over Pepperdine on Dec. 20, 1986.

Current UCI assistant Tod Murphy was a star player for the Anteaters in the mid-1980s and had a hand in several big wins at Crawford.

“[Murphy] has been telling us how it used to be [playing at Crawford],” UCI senior Patrick Sanders said.

 The UCI women’s soccer team completed a remarkable turnaround regular season with a 2-0 win over visiting UC Riverside Sunday. The win upped the Anteaters’ record to 11-6-2, 5-2-1 in conference. Not only were the ’Eaters 3-13-1, 0-7 in conference last season, they were a combined 2-20-1 in conference the previous three seasons. Also, they failed to score a goal against conference competition last season.

This season, first-year coach Scott Juniper’s squad has outscored teams, 28-14, and has 10 shutouts. Nine of those shutouts have come with freshman Danielle de Seriere in goal, tying a school single-season record.

The Anteaters will meet the host Titans Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the semifinals of the four-team Big West Tournament that also includes Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Long Beach State.

Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State finished tied atop the conference with 6-2 records, while UCI tied Cal Poly for third. Cal State Fullerton, the two-time defending tournament champion, is the No. 1 seed, followed by Long Beach State, Cal Poly (which defeated UCI, 1-0, Oct. 12 at UCI), and UCI. The title game is scheduled Sunday at 1 p.m., also at Cal State Fullerton.

It’s the fourth time UCI has qualified for the conference tournament, from which the winner earns an automatic berth in the 64-team NCAA Tournament. UCI appeared in the tournament in 2003, 1997 and 1996.

UCI, which has never played in an NCAA Tournament, is paced offensively by seniors Kim Horn (four goals and five assists) and Frankee Kelly (five goals, one assist), as well as sophomore Kate Berrini and freshman Tanya Taylor, both of whom have five goals, one assist each this season.

Freshman Caty Cope has 10 assists, tops all-time in UCI single-season annals.