University of California, Riverside
UC Irvine
Williams Has 23, But Anteaters Hold On Against Highlanders
1/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The UC Irvine Anteaters almost squandered a 25-point lead, but held on to defeat a resurgent UC Riverside squad, 71-61, in a Big West contest in front of 1,130 fans at the Student Recreation Center in Riverside Thursday.
The Anteaters improved to 9-8 overall and 5-0 in the Big West, while the Highlanders fell to 2-4 in the Big West and to 2-14 overall.
Senior guard Steve Williams led the Highlanders with a game and career-high 23 points. Sophomore guard Larry Cunningham came off the bench to add 13 points and senior guard Rickey Porter added 10. UCI's Adam Templeton came off the bench to score a team-high 18 points, and Nic Campbell and Darren Fells had 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The Highlanders, who trailed by as many as 25 points in the first half and 18 in the second half, used a 20-5 run in the second half to shave the Anteater lead down to just three at 59-56 on a trey by Porter with 5:11 remaining. The Anteaters regained the momentum and built the lead to six. UCR had opportunities to shave the lead further, but could not convert as Porter missed a pair of free throws that could have sliced the margin to four with 2:35 left and Cunningham committed a costly turnover that resulted in a steal and fastbreak layup by Aaron Fitzgerald that gave Irvine a commanding 66-58 lead with 1:49 remaining.
Free throws were the Highlanders' biggest Achilles' heel, as they were just 12-of-20 (60.0%) on the game, including just 3-of-9 in the final three minutes of the game. UCI wasn't any better, hitting just 7-of-13 (53.8%) from the free throw line, but made up for it at the three point line, hitting 10-of-23 (43.5%) from beyond the arc. UCR, by contrast, was just 5-of-24 (20.8%). Overall the Highlanders shot 22-of-59 (37.3%) from the field, while UCI was 27-of-54 (50.0%).
Irvine started the game on fire, scoring 17 unanswered points over the first 5:28 of the ball game. UCR got its first basket on a jumper by Williams with 13:17 remaining, but the Anteaters again went on a run to build a 37-12 lead with 6:12 remaining.
But the Highlanders didn't give up, putting together a 14-0 run over the next four and a half minutes to cut the lead to 11 at 37-26 with 2:42 left. The Anteaters took a 41-29 lead into the intermission. UCR, which missed its first eight shots, finished the half at 10-of-30 (33.3%), including 4-of-15 (26.7%)from the three point line. UCI was 17-of-32 (53.1%) from the field, including 7-of-15 (46.7%) from the three point line.
The Highlanders played the game without Head Coach David Spencer, who missed the game due to a severe inner ear infection. Assistant Coach Vonn Webb ran the Highlanders on Thursday.
