‘Eaters fall flat in road setback

Barry Faulkner

Still reeling from the season-ending knee injury that felled talented

senior big man Vili Morton in a one-point nonconference home loss

Monday night, the UC Riverside men’s basketball team used little more

than 10 minutes of scrimmage time in the two days it had to prepare

for Thursday’s Big West Conference home clash against UC Irvine.

But following a 68-55 Highlander triumph, it was UCI Coach Pat

Douglass who was left to wonder what may have led to a performance he

deemed the Anteaters’ most disheartening of the season.

The loss, UCI’s fourth straight, dropped the Anteaters to 6-6, 1-4

in conference.

“We put preparation into this game,” Douglass said after the

Highlanders [5-8, 1-3] scored the first 13 points of the second half

to extend a 10-point halftime edge on their way to halting a

five-game losing skid.

“I really can’t tell you what happened as far as our mind-set.

Granted, [the Highlanders] hit some shots, but we didn’t play with

the type of effort we have to play with. If you don’t play with

effort in this conference, you can’t compete.

“They out hustled us, were more physical and played more inspired

than we did. You can lose, when you compete, but we didn’t do that

tonight.” Douglass wasn’t buying the possible rationalization that

the absence of Morton -- a 6-foot-8 forward who leads the conference

in rebounding (9.3 per game) and is second in scoring (15.7 per

contest) -- might have prompted any overconfidence from his players.

“I’m not going to use that as an excuse,” Douglass said of the

injury that led Riverside Coach John Masi to cancel practice Tuesday

and limit Wednesday’s workout to a brief walk-through, followed by a

10-minute scrimmage. “They kicked our [rear ends], bottom line.”

Riverside found a new No. 1 offensive option in 6-2 redshirt freshman

Larry Cunningham, who came off the bench to score a career-high 29.

Cunningham, whom Masi said may have been confused about his role with

Morton in the lineup, was 8 of 11 from the field, including 5 of 7

from three-point range.

Soon after entering the game midway through the first half,

Cunningham erupted for 15 straight UCR points, netting four

three-pointers and converting a traditional three-point play.

“Larry asked if me if we were going to play differently without

Vili,” Masi said. “I think he thought, because Vili was in there, he

didn’t have a role. I’ve been trying to tell him for the last three

weeks to be aggressive on offense. But he’s a first-year player and

sometimes it takes time.” Riverside wasted little time building an

advantage, answering Jeff Gloger’s game-opening three-pointer with a

9-0 run that gave the hosts the lead for good.

Cunningham’s hot shooting helped the Highlanders take a 30-15

advantage, but UCI battled back to slice the deficit to 36-28 on a

Ross Schraeder three ball with 1:17 left before intermission.

But Riverside scored the final two points of the first half, then

held UCI scoreless the first 6 minutes, 48 seconds after the break.

The Anteaters missed their first nine field-goal attempts of the

second half and finished just 9 of 27 from the field in the final 20

minutes.

UCI was 18 of 51 for the game (35.3%) and finished with 16

turnovers to the Highlanders’ 10.

Only freshman Davis Baker, who came in averaging just more than

one minute per game this season, made more field-goal attempts than

he missed for UCI. Baker was 3 of 5, including 1 of 2 from threedom,

to score a career-high seven points in nine minutes.

Schraeder led the visitors with 12 points, while Gloger, Darren

Fells and Greg Ethington added eight apiece.

Gloger added six rebounds, five assists and two steals, while

Fells chipped in six boards and three steals.

But there were few answers for the Anteaters, who chipped away at

a lead that topped out at 25 with 10:16 left in the game, to make the

final score somewhat more respectable.

UCR finished 20 of 49 from the field (40.8%) while UCI was just

15 of 22 from the foul line (68.2%).

UCI will try to bounce back Saturday at Cal State Fullerton (8-4,

3-1).

ZOTS -- UC Riverside senior Vili Morton, who scored 25 points in a

66-65 loss to UC Davis Monday before injuring his knee in the final

minute, is third in the conference in field-goal percentage (58.9%).

Morton played the 2003-04 season with an undiagnosed fracture of the

navicular bone in his right foot. ... UC Irvine entered the week No.

1 in the Big West and 36th nationally in field-goal percentage

defense (39.6%). ...UCI junior guard Aaron Fitzgerald entered the

week leading the conference in assists (5.5 per game), while junior

guard Ross Schraeder’s 33 three-pointers this season were topped only

by Cal State Fullerton’s Bobby Brown (35). ... Thursday’s loss

dampened the 24th Birthday for senior center Greg Ethington.

Big West Conference

UC Riverside 68, UC Riverside 55

UC Irvine - Fells 8, Ethington 8, Schraeder 12, Fitzgerald 6,

Gloger 8, Baker 7, Metelski 5, Bruckner 1.

3-pt. goals - Schraeder 2, Baker 1, Gloger 1.

Fouled out - Campbell.

UC Riverside - Jobe 0, Schille 11, Porter 7, Williams 6, Ost 4,

Cunningham 29, Henning 6, Bell 5.

3-pt. goals - Cunningham 5, Porter 1.

Fouled out - Schille.

Technicals - None.

Halftime - UC Riverside, 38-28.