Ramblers hold off Anteaters

Fitzgerald helps UCI rally to gain the lead, but his two turnovers in the last 1:30 help Loyola collect win.IRVINE -- Aaron Fitzgerald is frequently the heartbeat of the UC Irvine men’s basketball team, for better or worse. And there are times, like Thursday night’s 74-72 loss to Loyola of Chicago, when he skirts the fine line between the two on alternating possessions.

The senior point guard scored 18 of his 26 points after halftime to help the Anteaters turn a 59-44 second-half deficit into to a 70-68 lead with 2:21 left in the nonconference game.

It was Fitzgerald, a flashy transfer who has led the Big West Conference in assists since arriving last season, who scored the Anteaters’ final six points, including two free throws with 1:08 left to give UCI a 72-70 lead.

But it was Fitzgerald’s two turnovers in the final 90 seconds that helped doom the hosts.

Though he entered the final 1:30 with just two turnovers in 33 minutes of play, Fitzgerald’s inbound pass from his own baseline was intercepted by Loyola’s Blake Schilb, who took it the distance for a tying dunk with 1:25 left.

On UCI’s next possession, Fitzgerald -- whose dribble penetration and acrobatic finishes in the lane had seemingly rescued his team from a listless performance -- flipped the ball off his hip toward the corner and out of bounds. The final turnover, a no-look pass intended for sharpshooter Ross Schraeder -- who had pulled up on the wing, rather than flowing to the corner -- gave the Ramblers the ball with 34 ticks remaining.

Loyola (8-2), off to its best start in 40 years, took advantage. Schilb, who led his team with 26 points, canned a 16-foot jumper from the left wing with three seconds left for the winning margin.

Fitzgerald was stripped of the ball just beyond midcourt by two defenders, denying him a final shot and one last chance at being the hero.

“I’ve been working on staying solid and I had [two] turnovers in the first 38 minutes,” Fitzgerald said. “Then I had two turnovers in the last two minutes that killed us. I think I played well, except for those last two turnovers. But that’s what counted at the end was those two turnovers.”

UCI Coach Pat Douglass echoed Fitzgerald’s comments.

“Those two possessions were big, but [Fitzgerald] had a good ballgame,” Douglass said.

Fitzgerald had four of his game-high six assists after intermission, when Loyola held a 44-33 advantage. He made 5 of 9 field-goal tries in the second half, including 1 of 2 from three-point range. He finished 11 of 12 from the foul line.

A pair of three-pointers by Nic Campbell helped UCI (4-5) pare the deficit to 61-54 with 9:27 left. But the Ramblers scored five straight points, forcing Fitzgerald to assert himself offensively.

“They were denying Ross [Schraeder] really hard and, after Nic made a couple shots, they got up on him too, which opened it up for me,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald scored 17 of UCI’s final 19 points, but it wasn’t enough.

Campbell (12), Schraeder (11) and Shamar Armstrong (10) also scored in double figures for the Anteaters.

Douglass said senior Adam Metelski and freshman Adam Templeton came off the bench to provide the defensive intensity that helped UCI rally.

After Schilb’s bucket gave Loyola a 68-57 lead with 7:09 left, UCI held the Ramblers scoreless over the next 5:44 to regain the lead.

In the first half, UCI seized a 15-6 advantage, before going cold. The ‘Eaters shot 34.5% from the field before halftime, while Loyola made 16 of 30 for 53.3%.

“We played better defense the last 10 minutes of the game,” Douglass said. “Metelski and Templeton came in and played with some intensity.”

Campbell was 4 of 6 from three-point range, and his five rebounds tied Schraeder and Patrick Sanders for team-high honors.

Schilb made 10 of 16 field-goal attempts to help the Ramblers finish 29 of 54 from the field (53.7%).

Both teams had just three turnovers at halftime, but UCI finished with 13 to the Ramblers’ 10.

UCI returns to action Dec. 29 against Arkansas-Monticello, the first of two games in the Oneida Classic in Green Bay, Wis.

Nonconference

Loyola of Chicago 74

UC Irvine 72

Score by Halves