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SPORTS 4Th«BIG WEST: The Eagles make 16 three-pointers in an 89-78 victory over the Anteaters.By JANIS CARRThe Orange County RegisterDENTON, Texas — It was a three-point shooting contest and little else for UC Irvine on Thursday night.In a “can-you-top-this?” kind of performance, North Texas took advantage of key shooting and several Irvine mistakes to ..win the Big West Conference gjjen’s basketball opener, 89-78, ~*n front of an announced crowd ofH308IXThe Eagles (2-9) made 16 of 33TJbree-pointers (48.5 percent).HPooh Davis, a sophomore guard, Scored a career-high 26 points on ntof-14 shooting, including 6 of 8 Ufcree-pointers.- - Irvine, in an attempt to combat ^Rorth Texas’ trapping defense ^ahd stifling press, followed suit Xftith 13 of 26 three-pointers. I$lt;dain Stetson and Ben Jones, ^who combined for seven three-jjointers, each scored 18 points llr the Anteaters (3-8).“‘“In the first half, we were ^standing around waiting for ~£hem to shoot,” Irvine coach Pat XSouglass said. “I was hoping we rwould do better on the boards, ;but they are a pretty good shooting team.”I The Eagles scored their second I victory after losing to top teams I such as Georgia Tech, Texas, 7 Oklahoma, North Carolina State -and Iowa. But the one thing I North Texas has done all season, ;if not win, is force teams to turn •over the ball. The Eagles are -averaging 21.8 turnovers against 1 those top-notch teams.;; So getting Irvine to make mis-;; takes was as easy as finding barbecue in Texas. The Anteaters turned over the ball 26 times, while the Eagles had 14.“We have to learn how to take baby steps,” Douglass said. “We- had a couple of freshmen on the floor with Ben Jones and Jason Flowers and a sophomore in Adam Stetson. We’re young and 1 have to remain patient. But, at the same time, we have to realize our mistakes.”The first half was not much of a contest for Irvine, despite hittingseven three-pointers. That’s because North Texas made 10 andled 47-40 at the half.The Anteaters had better success against North Texas’ press in the second half. They contained their offense and managed to stay in the game.The Anteaters’ Junior Bond quickly cut the halftime lead to four with a three-pointer to start the second half. Irvine pulled to within three, 61-58, with an 8-0 run with 7:23 left.But the Eagles, who largely abandoned their press in favor of man defense, came right back and regained a 13-point lead (73-60) with a 12-2 run, capped by a three-pointer by Eagles reserve junior Gabe Moeller, who had been 0 for 18 coming into the game.He and Davis weren’t the only ones with a career night. Junior center Chuck Thrash also posted career numbers with 19 points and 14 rebounds.Despite their youth and poor ballhandling (averaging 18 turnovers), the Anteaters played tough.The Anteaters managed to cut the lead to two, 80-78, on an eight-point run with 59 seconds remaining. For every good play, it seemed, there was a turnover waiting to happen. Irvine committed three consecutive turnovers, allowing the Eagles to score the final eight points for the winning margin.FGFTRebUC IRVINEMin M-AM-AO-TA PfPtsStetson31 4-97-80-40218Jones37 6-92-22-72218Robinson20 2-70-01-4024Rowers35 4-121-10-21212Parker9 2-30-02-2144Edmond5 0-20-00-1100Bond32 2-52-20-2438Jackson8 1-32-22-5245Scoggin3 04)0-00-1000Willard20 4-51-11-4029Totals200 25-5515-1612-37112178Percentages: FG 455. FI 938 3-Point Goats: 13-26 (Stetson 3*7, Jones 4-6. Flowers 3*6. Edmond 0-1. Bond 2-4. Jackson 1*2). Team Rebounds: 5 Blocked shots: 2 (Jones 1, Robinson 1) Turnovers: 26 (Stetson 4, Jones 2. Robinson 1. Flowers 5. Parker 3, Edmond 1. Bond 5, Jackson 1. Scoggin 2. Willard 2).Steele: 7 (Jones 1. Flowers t. Bond 1. Jackson 1. Scoggin 1. Willard 2) Technical fouls: NoneFGFTRebNORTH TEXASMin M-AM-AO-TAPfPtsC Washington273-63-33-63410Miller282-62-42-6047Thrash377-153-49-142319Davis33 9-142-21-32126Harvey16t-61-21-1204R Washington164-92-21-12113Cooper131-10-00-1023Atkins150-70-004)200Peyton10-004)04)000Moeller21-10-004)013Schofield121-42-20-1104Totals200 26-69 15-19 18-3714 1689Percentages: FG 420. FT 789 3-Point Goals: 16-33 (C Washington 1-1 Miller 1-2, Thrash 2-3. Davis 6-8. Harvey t- «5, R Washington 3-7. Cooper 1-1. Atkins 0-3. Moeller 1-1. .Schofieid 0-2) Team Rebounds: 4 Blocked shots: 2 IMiller 1. Thrash 1) Turnovers: 14 (Miller 3. Thrash 6, Davis 3. Harvey 1. R Washington 1) Steals: 17 (C Washington 1. :Miller 3. Thrash 4. Davis 4. Harvey 1. Cooper 2. Atkins 1. JSchofield 1) Technical fouls: UNT bench_ (UC Irvine 40 38 - 78 \North Texas_47 42 — 89Attendance: 1.308 Officials: Kerry Sitton. James Arm- *strong and Jim Flores ]
Newspaper Details
Santa Ana Orange County Register
Santa Ana, California, US
Fri, Jan 09, 1998
Page 23
Full Page
Clipped by
Decatur P.
IL, USA 16 Sep 2022
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