UCI stays in flow

Barry Faulkner

Thursday’s 78-58 Big West Conference victory over visiting Long Beach

State is yet another indication the UC Irvine men’s basketball team’s

up-tempo offensive flow is experiencing a second wind.

But with the extent of an injury to the nose and left cheekbone of

junior sharpshooter Ross Schraeder to be determined by X-rays

scheduled today, there likely were some in the Anteater program who

spent some uneasy overnight hours holding their breath.

“His eyes were bloodshot, but his vision was fine,” UCI junior

guard Jeff Gloger said of Schraeder, who, with 5:41 remaining, fell

to the floor and remained there for at least a minute, his arms bent

under his forehead.

Schraeder, holding a compress to his nose, was helped from the

court and sat on the bench briefly, before exiting for the locker

room. After the game, he was seen holding a bag of ice to his left

cheekbone and a team spokesman said he will be checked further today.

“I was hoping it was just a nosebleed, but it looks like it was

maybe something in his cheekbone,” said UCI Coach Pat Douglass, who

confirmed Schrader’s nose was bleeding when he left the game. “We

need to get it X-rayed. I don’t know if it’s broken or what happened.

I think he caught an elbow.”

Schraeder had just seven points Thursday, but he entered the game

leading the team in scoring at 14.2 per game. He was also leading the

Big West in made three-pointers per game (3.1) and was second in the

conference in three-point shooting at 47.6%. His three-point-shooting

percentage ranked 11th nationally heading into this week.

The Anteaters (8-6, 3-4 in conference) didn’t need Schraeder’s

perimeter prowess to take care of the 49ers (2-14, 0-7), who have now

lost 11 straight conference games, 15 straight road dates and 35 of

their last 36 on an opponents’ home floor.

Long Beach State missed nine of its first 10 field-goal tries to

help facilitate a 17-2 Anteater cushion. UCI held the visitors

scoreless for 6 minutes, 24 seconds until a three-point play by Onye

Ibekwe broke the drought to pull the 49ers, who entered last in the

conference in scoring (60.7 ppg) and field-goal shooting (40.6%),

within 17-5 with 13:02 left in the first half.

“It was probably a combination of [good defense and poor

shooting],” Douglass said. “They’re not a very good perimeter

shooting team and I thought we did a good job in our post defense.”

Long Beach finished 17 of 55 from the field (30.9%), as the

Anteaters, who lead the conference in field-goal percentage defense,

worked hard on the defensive end to help fuel their suddenly

energized offense.

“We seem to have a pretty good flow going,” said Douglass, who

responded to his players’ request to run more after a players-only

meeting that preceded Saturday’s 97-81 win at Cal State Fullerton,

with an increased player rotation.

“I talked with some kids and they told me they wanted to run

more,” Douglass said. “You can’t do that when you’re playing six

guys, so we’ve been playing more people.”

Junior Adam Metelski was the primary benefactor of more bench

minutes Thursday, as the junior college transfer made all five

field-goal tries to finish with a career-high 12 points in 15

minutes.

Freshman Davis Baker led the remaining reserves with four points

and drew praise from Douglass for his overall play.

“It may not show in the stats, with just four points, but I liked

the way [Baker] handled himself out there,” Douglass said of the

6-foot-4 guard who played a career-high 19 minutes.

Contributions were, however, hardly lacking from UCI’s familiar

faces.

Gloger was 9 of 11 from the field en route to 20 points, matching

the career high he established Saturday. Since returning to the

starting lineup the last four games, Gloger has amassed 52 points, 23

rebounds and 18 assists.

“I think [Gloger is] playing a lot freer and a little more

aggressively,” Douglass said. “He’s not thinking as much.”

Junior point guard Aaron Fitzgerald had 13 points and a UCI-best

11 assists for his second consecutive double-double. He also chipped

in five rebounds and had just three turnovers.

Senior Greg Ethington, who wore a bandage on his forehead covering

11 stitches needed to close a wound opened by an elbow in Wednesday’s

practice, had 10 points and eight rebounds for the winners.

UCI was also bolstered by freshman forward Darren Fells, who shook

off the effects of the flu to collect eight points and eight boards.

Long Beach rallied briefly to come within 27-21, but a 9-0 UCI surge helped the hosts regain control.

UCI widened a 39-26 halftime edge to 18 points in a little more

than the first two minutes after intermission and was never seriously

threatened.

UCI shot 55.4% from the field for the game.

ZOTS -- UCI junior guard Ross Schraeder entered Thursday’s game

shooting better from three-point range (40 of 84 for 47.6%) than

overall from the field (58 of 124 f or 46.8%) ... UCI is 8-1 when it

scores at least 70 points and is 4-0 when it tops the 80-point

plateau.

Big West Conference

UC Irvine 78,

Long Beach State 58

Long Beach State -- Hawkins 0, Ibekwe 8, Jenkins 9, Hodges 16,

Pearson 3, Houston 7, Byrd 6, Free 6, Crockett 3.

3-pt. goals -- Hodges 2, Jenkins 2, Crockett 1, Houston 1.

Fouled out -- None.

Technicals -- None.

UC Irvine -- Fells 8, Gloger 20, Ethington 10, Schraeder 7, Fitzgerald 13, Metelski 12, Baker 4, Armstrong 3, Sanders 1.

3-pt. goals -- Ethington 1, Fitzgerald 1, Gloger 1, Schraeder 1,

Armstrong 1.

Fouled out -- None.

Technicals -- None.

Halftime -- UC Irvine, 39-26.