Great white blowout

IRVINE — From a place where darkness blankets the horizon about 20 hours each winter day, Alaska Fairbanks traveled nearly 2,500 miles to lighten the pre-conference load for the UC Irvine men’s basketball team.

The Division II Nanooks showed plenty of crannies in their zone defense in the first half Saturday, allowing the sharpshooting hosts to build an early lead and cruise to an 87-53 triumph before 3,155 at the Bren Events Center.

The 35-point margin of victory was the largest since a 94-40 win over Mississippi Valley State on Nov. 11, 2005. It was the largest margin in a home win since the season opener in 2004-05, a 106-69 triumph over Cal State Dominguez Hills.

The victory halted a four-game losing skid for the Anteaters (3-5), who are on the road for five of their next six games, including the Big West Conference opener Jan. 4 at Cal State Fullerton.

“That was a timely win,” UCI Coach Pat Douglass said. “We know we have a tough nonconference stretch ahead of us, so a win from time to time is probably helpful.”

Connecting from long range can also prove helpful, of course, and the Anteaters did just that early. Of their first 10 field goals, seven were three-pointers, and an eighth led to a traditional three-point play.

Junior guard Brett Lauer, making his second career start, made his first four three-point tries in the first 9:46 on his way to 12 points. He added four assists.

A three-pointer by senior guard Marcus McIntosh with 14:56 left in the first half sparked a 17-0 UCI run that included four three-pointers.

Seven Anteaters connected from beyond the arc to help the hosts make 11 of 18 for the game (61.1%). No UCI player shot worse than 50% from threedom.

UCI also made 23 of 40 from two-point territory to finish at 58.6% for the game.

Conversely, a defense that earned praise from Douglass helped limit the Nanooks (3-4) to 34% field-goal shooting (17 of 50). The visitors had separate droughts of 6:45 and 8:43 without a field goal.

“We made a concerted effort to come out and play good defense and I thought our defense was a little better tonight,” Douglass said.

“They went to a zone, trying to see if we could make the three ball, and I thought Brett Lauer got us off to a good start with his three-point shooting. I thought Darren Fells was a little bit too much for them inside, and I thought Kevin Bland had a good night on the boards.”

Fells, a 6-foot-7 senior center, made eight of 10 field-goal attempts on his way to 17 points, while Bland, a 6-8 junior power forward, had a team-high 10 rebounds.

Senior forward Patrick Sanders led the winners with 19 points and junior guard Chuma Awaji added 11 points off the bench.

The news was not all good for UCI, however, as the school announced that junior Adam Rosenberg, a 6-7 post who started the first six games of the season, will transfer out of the program. Rodenberg, who returned to Iowa for season-ending surgery to repair a hernia, asked for, and was granted his release by UCI.

“He was homesick and I guess he figured he’d go home and have surgery and just remain home,” Douglass said of Rodenberg, who averaged 6.8 points and 2.7 rebounds per game and was expected to bring muscle and depth to the center position. “It’s a disappointment, but we wish him well.”

Fells said the loss of Rodenberg will put more responsibility on him, as well as 6-8 freshman Matt Ballard.

Nonconference

UC Irvine 87, Alaska Fairbanks 53

AF – Begojevic 19, Titus 15, Atkins 8, Pico 3, Matteson 2, Campbell 2, Pew 2, Cannamore 2.

3-pt. goals – Begojevic 3, Titus 3, Pico 1.

Fouled out - None.

UC Irvine – Sanders 19, Bland 4, Fells 17, Lauer 12, Hunter 3, Awaji 11, McIntosh 7, DeCasas 5, Harris 5, Ballard 2, McDaniel 2.

3-pt. goals – Lauer 4, Awaji 2, Hunter 1, Sanders 1, McIntosh 1, DeCasas 1, Harris 1.

Fouled out - DeCasas.

Technicals - None.

Halftime – UCI, 43-25.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at barry.faulkner@latimes.com.