Lauer no longer sideshow for UCI

IRVINE — Junior guard Brett Lauer is no longer the feel-good, crowd-favorite, sparkplug off the bench for the UC Irvine men’s basketball team. Making his fifth straight start, his eighth in 16 games this season, against visiting Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Saturday, the 6-foot-1 transfer from San Diego Mesa Community College showed he has become a valued and reliable offensive weapon for the Anteaters.

Lauer, who tied his career-high with 14 points in Thursday’s home win over UC Santa Barbara, scored 20 to key a 73-69 Big West Conference triumph over the Mustangs, before 1,512 at the Bren Events Center.

The third and final Lauer three-pointer wound up being a four-point play that put the hosts (7-9, 2-1 in conference) up, 68-61, with 2:03 left.

Lauer also made nine of 10 free throws and had two assists, with only one turnover in 33 minutes.

Lauer was not the only hero for the winners, as senior Patrick Sanders scored 11 of UCI’s final 18 points in the last 6:46, including a stretch of nine straight for the Anteaters to help fend off what UCI Coach Pat Douglass called a hungry Cal Poly squad (6-10, 1-3).

Sanders had 18 points, five rebounds, three blocked shots and one assist in 28 minutes to help bolster his candidacy for Big West Player of the Week.

Sanders, however, figures to get some competition for the weekly honor from not only Lauer, but senior center Darren Fells, who collected 13 points and 11 rebounds, giving him his second straight double-double. Fells’ 12 points and 13 rebounds against Santa Barbara was his first double-double of the season.

The win allowed the Anteaters to land in a tie for third place in the conference, trailing Cal State Northridge (4-0) and Cal State Fullerton (3-1), while matching Pacific (2-1).

“We held serve at home,” said Douglass, whose team entered Thursday coming off a 1-4 road trip, but is now 6-0 in games played on its campus this season. “After being on the road for a month, it was nice to create some excitement. We were excited Thursday. But six of the next seven conference games are on the road, too.”

Cal Poly, the conference runner-up last season which was picked to finish second in the preseason conference poll by both coaches and media, appeared to have UCI on the path toward its first defeat in Irvine this season. The Mustangs broke a 29-29 halftime tie by scoring the first five points after intermission.

But the ’Eaters countered with a 15-3 run that included six straight baskets in the paint, followed by a Patrick Rembert three-pointer from the right wing to create a 44-38 cushion with 13:53 remaining.

In a game that featured four ties and six lead changes, Cal Poly never got closer than three after Rembert’s only basket.

Senior Dawin Whiten made four of the Mustangs seven three-pointers in the second half and scored 14 of his game-high 22 points after intermission.

A pair of Cal Poly baskets, the latter a 15-foot jumper by Lorenzo Keeler with 1:12 left, drew the Mustangs within 70-67.

On the ensuing Irvine possession, Sanders missed a double-pumping layup attempt under extreme defensive pressure with 46 seconds remaining, but Fells snagged the offensive rebound to reset the 35-second shot clock.

After a Cal Poly timeout with 43 ticks left, the Mustangs, eschewing a foul, let UCI drain 31 seconds off the clock, before Sanders drained a 15-footer from the right elbow with 12.2 seconds left.

Against contentious UCI defense, Whiten scored on a tip-in with 2.3 seconds left, prompting another timeout.

On the ensuing inbound pass, UCI sophomore Michael Hunter was fouled and hit the first of his double-bonus free throws to finalize the scoring with 1.2 seconds left.

Cal Poly rebounded the second miss, but could not get a shot off before the buzzer gave UCI a much-needed win.

Sophomore Chad DeCasas chipped in 10 points off the bench to help the hosts overcome a sub-par outside shooting night.

UCI was just six of 23 on three-point tries (26.1%) to finish 24 of 54 from the field (44.4%).

Cal Poly made 11 of 28 three-point attempts (39.3%) and shot 46.4% from the field (26 of 56).

Both teams had 10 turnovers and UCI, with the help of junior Kevin Bland, who added nine boards to his seven points, won the rebounding battle, 34-31.

Big West Conference

UC Irvine 73, Cal Poly SLO 69

CP – Hanson 5, Shelton 4, Whiten 22, Clark 3, Higgins 0, Thomas 11, Keeler 8, Vance 8, Lewis 6, Leavitt 2.

3-pt. goals – Whiten 5, Lewis 2, Clark 1, Thomas 1, Hanson 1, Keeler 1.

Fouled out - Clark.

Technicals - None.

UCI – Sanders 18, Bland 7, Fells 13, Lauer 20, Hunter 1, DeCasas 10, Rembert 3, McIntosh 1.

3-pt. goals – Lauer 3, Sanders 1, Rembert 1, DeCasas 1.

Fouled out - None.

Technicals - None.

Halftime – 29-29.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at [email protected].