More Is Good Enough for UCI : College Basketball: Anteaters shoot often enough to make up for lack of accuracy in 96-82 victory over Idaho State in Freedom Bowl Classic.

IRVINE —  They call this the Freedom Bowl Classic, and now it’s obvious why: No shot is denied its liberty, no matter how humble.

UC Irvine didn’t shoot well in its first-round game against Idaho State Friday. Truth be told, this team hasn’t shot well yet this season. But the Anteaters have a trick. They shoot so often, they make up for it, this time in a 96-82 victory over Idaho State in front of 2,368 in the Bren Center.

Irvine (2-2) plays Bradley (1-1) for the tournament title tonight at 8.

Loyola Marymount (1-3), which lost to Bradley, plays Idaho State (1-2) in the consolation game at 6.

It’s strange but true that in a tournament that includes Loyola, Irvine and Bradley, no team scored 100 points Friday.

The Anteaters went to Alaska for the Great Alaska Shootout last weekend and they took with them a new meaning to the term Lower 48. To the Anteaters, it sounds like a disappointing first-half score.

They didn’t reach that level by halftime Friday, and they didn’t reach their 102-point average. After shooting 38% in the first half, Irvine was tied with Idaho State, 42-42.

Ricky Butler, the Anteaters’ senior center, was at his best for a good part of the game. He had 14 points in the first half and scored the Anteaters’ first nine in the second half--including two on a ferocious alley-oop dunk.

There are basically two things that have kept Butler from being the player people expected him to be. One was weight. He has trimmed to 240 pounds from a high of 290 two years ago, and it was conspicuous by its absence Friday. Four times, he rejected Idaho State shots, and about as many times, he dunked his own.

But the other hindrance to Butler’s progress has been foul trouble, and it got him again Friday. He picked up his third and fourth in quick succession with about 13 minutes left in the game and he fouled out with 4:53 remaining after scoring 23 points.

Oddly, Irvine didn’t pull away until then.

Irvine was ahead, 78-72. The rest of the way, the team’s only other senior, Jeff Herdman, took over.

Of Herdman’s 20 points, 12 came after Butler left, including two three-pointers.

The Anteaters pulled together and shot 53% in the second half, finishing at 46%, their best mark of the season.

The other damage--perhaps most crucial--was done from the free-throw line, where Irvine outscored Idaho State, 28-8.

Once again, what the Anteaters lacked in accuracy they made up for in bulk. They attempted 43 free throws, and made 28 (65%).

Idaho State made eight of 12.

If it is strange that Irvine is shooting poorly, it is because Irvine has devoted an extraordinary amount of practice time to shooting.

To Coach Bill Mulligan’s consternation, the results have been poor. The Anteaters averaged 102 points in their first three games, but they did it while making only 41% of their shots.

The only reason they have been able to reach 100 points shooting at that rate is because they are averaging an astounding 86 shots a game, and 37 of them on the average are from three-point range.

“We’re not shooting well,” Mulligan said. “That’s really hurting us.”

There have been other problems--turnovers, for instance--and too few assists.

Irvine turned the ball over 19 times Friday, neither its worst performance or its best. They had 12 assists, which equals their season high.

Last year, their second victory came in the seventh game of the season, and their third did not come until the 23rd.

The teams they have beaten this season both had poor seasons last year. One was Texas Tech, which had a 19-game losing streak when it met Irvine.