‘Eaters determined to snap out of funk

Steve Virgen

UC Irvine entered this season as one of the top three men’s

basketball teams in the Big West Conference. There was UC Santa

Barbara, Utah State and UCI. The Anteaters defeated Utah State, but

they failed considerably against Santa Barbara, which dealt UCI its

worst home loss in four years, 70-54, Thursday.

The Anteaters (11-6, 5-3 in the Big West) have lost two straight

and are now faced with the challenges of answering critics, meeting

expectations and overcoming adversity. They will have that

opportunity tonight at 7:05 when UCI hosts Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

This is a winnable game for UCI, but nothing is a lock in the Big

West. Cal Poly (8-9, 4-4), which defeated Long Beach State, 86-71,

Wednesday, is 2-5 on the road this season. However, if the Anteaters

show up as they did against Santa Barbara, Douglass knows it will be

a long night, no matter who the opponent is.

“Hopefully that was a one-night experience,” Douglass said. “We

have to correct it and move on. I don’t know how to explain it. They

knew it was an important ballgame. It was at home (first of a

four-game homestand). We had our first five out of seven games on the

road and I was obviously more nervous about that.”

UCI has not lost three in a row this season. The last time it lost

two straight came at the beginning of the season when the Anteaters

suffered losses to Oklahoma and Western Michigan in the

season-opening Oklahoma Tournament. After that, UCI won nine of its

next 11.

Douglass stressed discipline as a facet the Anteaters must use

when running their offense. Like all coaches, Douglass wants balance,

scoring threat from the outside and down low. Against UCSB, senior

forward Jordan Harris and junior center Adam Parada, whom are UCI’s

scoring leaders, scored five and six points, respectively. Junior

forward Stanislav Zuzak did not score.

UCI senior guard Mike Hood, who had scored 59 points in the

previous four games, finished with seven points. While different

players have stepped up to help the Anteaters in their wins this

year, they spent Thursday waiting for that to happen.

“Last season, we had some games where we got behind big,” Douglass

said. “But with Jerry Green we had a potent weapon to take control of

the game. We really didn’t have anyone who could take control of the

game (Thursday).”

Varnie Dennis, Cal Poly’s 6-foot-8 junior forward, is capable of

carrying a team. He leads the Mustangs in scoring and is second in

the Big West with a 17.1 points-per-game average. The Mustangs also

feature junior forward Shane Schilling, a 6-6 transfer from the

University of Minnesota, who is averaging 13.8 points per game. Cal

Poly’s senior guard Jason Allen averages 11.2 points per game.

UCI holds a 10-9 advantage over the Mustangs in the all-time

series. UCI has won six of the past eight games. Last season, the

teams split with each team winning on its home court.