‘Eaters’ wild ride continues

Steve Virgen

The lessons learned paid off for the UC Irvine men’s basketball

team Wednesday. The Anteaters learned the hard way from their

three-game losing streak, UCI Coach Pat Douglass said.

UCI (12-7, 6-4 in the Big West Conference) will apply its game

education against Cal State Fullerton tonight at 7:05 at the Bren

Events Center. The matchup will close out the Anteaters’ four-game

homestand and will mark UCI’s Homecoming/Hall of Fame game.

“(UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo) played well

against us, but we played subpar,” Douglass said. “It was a learning

lesson for us, in playing the whole game, not being complacent and

keeping the level of intensity up.”

The ‘Eaters are in fourth place in the Big West, a half-game

behind University of the Pacific, and a game back of USCB and Utah

State, which are tied in first. With eight games remaining, the

Anteaters have become well aware that the margin for error is quite

small.

“In this league, the margin of victory is so small, you can’t get

complacent,” Douglass said. “We should have enough veterans to know

that, but it’s a learning experience. It’s going to be tough from

here on out. Fullerton is playing well, so we know that will be a

tough ballgame for us.”

Fullerton (6-14, 4-6) appears eager to get back in the conference

title race after suffering a 79-73 loss at Long Beach State Thursday.

The Titans lost for the sixth time in seven games, as the 49ers

earned the win after shooting a season-high 68.2% from the field.

Three of Fullerton’s four conference wins came on overtime

victories. The Titans tied an NCAA record with three straight

overtime wins in January. UCI was Fullerton’s second OT victim, as

the Titans won 66-65 on a three-point play by Ralphy Holmes with

three-tenths of a second left in overtime.

UCI overcame an 11-point deficit in the final three minutes of

regulation, yet could not get the victory. The Titans were without

6-foot-10 junior center Pape Sow, who had been suspended after he was

arrested for stealing. But Sow is back. He has played the past two

games, both losses for Fullerton. He scored 22 points off the bench

Thursday.

The Titans also feature Holmes, who leads the team in scoring

(17.3 points per game). Sophomore Fedi Holm-Hadulla, a transfer from

the University of Heidelberg in Germany, scored a career-high 17

points Thursday, while junior point guard Zakee Smith battled with

illness.

UCI snapped its three-game losing streak, its longest skid in

three years, with an impressive 78-61 victory over UC Riverside

Wednesday. The Anteaters played with emotion and fed off the energy

of junior forward Matt Okoro, who scored 12 points. Also, UCI’s

starting backcourt of senior Mike Hood (game-high 18 points) and

freshman Jeff Gloger (16), as well as junior center Adam Parada

guided the Anteaters to the win.

Parada recorded his 13th double-double of his career with 16

points and 10 rebounds. He leads the Big West in field-goal

percentage (.538). Gloger is first in the league in steals with 55.

UCI junior forward Jordan Harris leads the team in scoring (11.8

ppg.), while Parada averages 11.7 points per game, and Hood is at

11.5.

Parada, who has 15 blocked shots this season, needs one more to be

the school’s career leader in blocks. He is tied with Jeff Lutzow

(1989-93) with 98.

Four former UCI standouts will be inducted into the school’s Hall

of Fame at a brunch today. They will be introduced during tonight’s

game. They include, Allah-mi Bahseer (women’s basketball), Rocky

Craig (baseball), Chris Duplanty (men’s water polo and swimming) and

Mark Kaplan (men’s tennis).