UCI denied in OT

Steve Virgen

They crawled out of a hole, climbed up the proverbial mountain,

yet in less than one second the UC Irvine Anteaters came crashing

down at the hands of Ralphy Holmes.

Holmes threw in a wild, somewhat desperate bank-shot just inside

the free-throw line, while being fouled by UCI freshman Mike

Efevberha with three-tenths of a second remaining in overtime that

tied the score, 65-65.

Holmes then made the subsequent free throw for the winning margin,

66-65, for a Big West Conference men’s basketball victory over the

Anteaters at Fullerton’s Titan Gym Wednesday.

With 5.7 seconds left, Efevberha made the front end of a

one-and-one foul shooting opportunity, for a 65-63 lead, but missed

the second free throw to give Fullerton one last shot.

After Holmes drove the length of the court and hit the thrilling

bank-shot, he ran toward fans in the stands and slapped hands with

several of them.

Fullerton won its second straight overtime game, as the Titans

also defeated UC Santa Barbara in OT Saturday.

UCI (7-4, 1-1 in the Big West), which overcame a 10-point deficit in the final 1:29 of regulation, was left with a Hail Mary-type pass

that was tipped and time ran out before Adam Parada could catch and

quickly shoot.

Parada, who started at center for the first time since Dec. 19 (a

four-game span), led UCI with 25 points, on 8-of-10 shooting, to go

with 11 rebounds.

“It was disappointing,” UCI Coach Pat Douglass said. “We should

have won in overtime. We made a good comeback but they pretty much

outhustled us on loose balls. We just didn’t take care of business.”

The seemingly depleted Titans (4-8, 2-1), actually, came close to

not taking care of business. Playing without its starting center Pape

Sow and three other players, Fullerton led, 54-44, with 1:28

remaining after Holmes drove in for an easy basket on an isolation

play. Holmes finished with a team-high 23 points.

However, UCI outscored Fullerton, 13-3, down the stretch, as

Efevberha hit two three-pointers and freshman Ross Schraeder, who

scored 14 points off the bench, nailed one. With 3.4 seconds

remaining, UCI senior forward Jordan Harris hit a 10-foot pull-up

shot from the right elbow that tied the score, 57-57, and sent the

game into overtime as Zakee Smith’s half-court heave at the buzzer

only drew the backboard for the Titans.

“We were in control (of the game), there was no question,”

Fullerton Coach Donny Daniels said. “But we just got a little tight.

We didn’t make our free throws and they were hitting threes.”

Said Holmes: “I was just trying to make a play, and I was trying

to get some body contact. (The win) is big, real big.”

Fullerton hit 3 of 7 from the free throw line in the final 51

seconds, opening the door for the Anteaters.

Then, in the overtime, UCI went ahead, 64-62, with 1:43 remaining

after Schraeder knocked down a three-pointer. UCI freshman Jeff

Gloger dribble penetrated and then passed out to an open Schraeder.

The teams traded posssessions and then with 6.8 seconds left

Fullerton’s Anthony Bolton drew a foul. He missed the first free

throw of a double-bonus situation, but made the second to pull the

deficit, 64-63.

With 5.7 seconds left, Efevberha was fouled after catching a tough

inbounds pass from Schraeder.

“I felt that I should have made those free throws,” said

Efevberha, who scored nine points. “I was looking for (Holmes after

the rebound), but there was miscommunication. I should have been

paying better attention.”

Gloger, who scored six points and had four assists, said UCI’s

loss signified the competitive play in the Big West.

“It’s a lesson for us that we can’t let teams go off on us early

in the game,” Gloger said. “It was a great comeback, but we should

have never been in that situation.”

UCI shot 35% in the first half and trailed, 25-20, at halftime.

The Anteaters also experienced a scoring drought in the first half,

going 7:30 without a point, until Matt Okoro broke the slump with a

putback off his own miss, yet UCI was still behind, 21-18.

In the second half, the Anteaters fell behind, 33-26, with five

minutes remaining. However, Fullerton answered with a 13-0 run over

the next 4:34, building a 46-34 lead with 8:08 left.

ZOTS -- UCI junior center Pape Sow, who was suspended

for the team after being arrested, will await word on his fate after

an appeal meeting with school officials Wednesday. The Fullerton

Athletic department said school officials will send a letter to Sow

with the decision between now and Monday ... Schraeder hit what was

thought to be a three-pointer with 2:02 left in regulation, but

officials reviewed the play on TV and saw that Schraeder’s toe was on

the line.