Sat July 26, 2008
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UC Irvine Downs Pacific 74-59Feb. 14, 2008
IRVINE, Calif. --- Seniors Patrick Sanders and Darren Fells combined for 48 points to lead UC Irvine to a 74-59, Big West Conference win over Pacific Thursday night at the Bren Events Center, knocking the Tigers out of a tie for first place in the league. The win gave UCI head coach Pat Douglass victory No. 164, setting the Anteater coaching record for most victories. Douglass, in his 11th season, is 164-151 as he passed Bill Mulligan, who was 163-156 in 11 seasons from 1980-91. Sanders scored 25 points, hitting 7 of 12 field goals and 8 of 9 free throws. He now has 999 career points at UCI. Fells scored 23 points and hauled down 11 rebounds to record his fifth double-double of the season and 14th of his career. Senior guard Marcus McIntosh added 14 points, hitting 10 of 14 free throws. He also recorded four steals and two assists. The Anteaters, who are 8-0 in games on campus this season, hit 26 of 32 free throws in Thursday's win, including 18 of 22 in the second half. This was the fourth straight game that UCI has held the opposition to less than 60 points. Steffan Johnson led Pacific (17-7, 8-3) with 17 points while Chad Troyer added 14. The Tigers are now a half game behind league-leading Cal State Northridge (8-2). The Matadors were idle Thursday. UCI (11-13, 6-5) led 43-37 at halftime but Pacific closed the gap to 46-44 on a jumper by Casey Neimeyer with 16:10 remaining. A three by Sanders, a layup by Kevin Bland and a pair of free throws from Fells extended the Anteaters' lead to 53-44 with 13:06 left. Pacific pulled to within 55-50 on a layup by C.J. Morgan with 11:15 remaining but UCI went on a 7-2 run capped by a basket from Fells to forge ahead 62-52 at the 6:01 mark and the Tigers could not close the gap to less than eight the rest of the way. UCI plays its final regular-season road game Wednesday when the Anteaters travel to UC Riverside. UCI hosts Idaho Feb. 23 at 7:05 p.m. as part of the ESPNU/O'Reilly BracketBusters weekend. |
