Story by Brett Shapoff
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| USC's #13 Bryan Chass. Photo by Leon Bennett/ T.G.Sports. |
After cruising to a lop-sided victory a
few nights earlier against UC Riverside, perhaps, the Men of Troy
over-looked the Anteaters Thursday night at the Galen Center, where
UCI (UC Irvine) led from beginning to end, and beat USC 61-54, for
their first win in 29 years against the Trojans.
The Trojans seemed to be out of focus
from the start, and never got into gear to make this as close as the
score indicated. Coach Kevin O’Neill’s Trojans may have been
looking ahead to their long flight on Friday to Athens, Georgia, for
Saturday’s game against the Bulldogs, because the smaller, quicker
Anteaters, baffled the taller Trojans all night.
Irvine’s main threat, Daman Starring,
constantly was a thorn in the Trojan’s side, as he continually hit
3-pointers whenever USC was within striking distance. Starring paved
the way for the Anteaters with 23 points, going 5-6 from beyond the
arc. His teammates, Adam Folker pitched in 12 points, while Michael
Wilder had 9 points and collected 7 rebounds.
The Anteaters head coach, Russell
Turner, commented, "It really does feel good to be rewarded with
a win against another tough defensive team. I have a real smart team
and I'm very proud of how we played tonight with a lot of poise. We
have a bunch of guys who can all play.”
The Trojans got down early and were
never able to claw their way back against the smaller team forty
miles down (south) I-5. It was 15-9 UCI after 5:30 in the first half,
31-22 UCI with 3:00 remaining in the first half, and 37-25 UCI at
halftime.
The Trojans played a bit more enthusiastically in the second half,
but not enough to overcome their 12-point halftime deficit. They got
down early and it hurt them. Trojan head coach, Kevin O’Neill,
acknowledged UCI’s effort, by saying, "[The Anteaters] played
great. They deserved to win."
Overall, for the game, UCI had five more field goals than the Trojans, including, five more 3-pointers. Although the Trojans out-rebounded UCI 34-28, the Anteaters put up ten more shots than USC, which gave the Trojans this rebounding edge.
Similar to the Trojans play
against the Minnesota Golden Gophers a few weeks ago, Coach O’Neill
played a combination of man-to-man and zone defense to shake things
against the more patient UCI squad, but to no avail, as Coach
Turner’s Anteaters methodically worked each and every possession
for the best possible shot.
USC closed to within 57-52 with
4:00 remaining in the game, but could not get over the hump. Irvine’s
well-coached unit hit two free throws on their next possession to
push the lead back to seven, and this seven point cushion remained
until the horn sounded.
A long night for the Trojans…
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