Anteaters Can’t Keep Up With Frenetic Pace of SLO

SAN LUIS OBISPO —  The stress, and press, finally got to UC Irvine Thursday. It kept the Anteaters’ record perfect--12 games, 12 losses.

This one, though, happened at a much faster pace.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo wore Irvine down for a 79-62 victory in front of 3,097 at Mott Gym. it was the Anteaters’ 15th consecutive loss--dating back to last season--which tied a school record.

Only two seasons ago, San Luis Obispo was 1-26 in its first year as an NCAA Division I program. The Mustangs (9-6, 3-0) have climbed out of that hole rather nicely and are tied for first place in the Big West Conference’s Western Division. It’s a success story that the Anteaters (0-3 in conference) might even admire. But not on Thursday. The Mustangs were just a pesky team, with a bit of attitude.

San Luis Obispo did everything possible to push, and shove, the tempo and it worked. Irvine hung in there for a time and trailed, 57-53, with eight minutes left. It was then that the Mustangs went on their last run, an 11-2 binge. They held the Anteaters to three field goals in the last six minutes.

“They want to play a certain way and we didn’t,” Coach Rod Baker said. “When we played it our way, we were successful. When they played it their way, we weren’t successful.”

Irvine tied its season high with 30 turnovers, 18 of which were Mustang steals. The only other time the Anteaters had 30 turnovers they lost by 62 points to USC.

This one didn’t get quite so out of hand, but not from lack of effort by the Mustangs.

The pace was such that Juma Jackson and Shanta Cotright nearly squared off after battling for a loose ball in the first half. Both were given unsportsmanlike fouls.

“We were both going for the ball and he got carried away and hit me with an elbow,” Jackson said. “I went temporarily insane for a moment. But I caught myself real quick.”

The Mustangs even seemed to get to Baker. While arguing a call with officials, he gave Mustang guard Mike Wozniak two, some-what friendly, slaps on the rear for what Baker said was a humorous line.

It became that kind of game, at the Mustangs’ insistence. At one point, San Luis Obispo guard Ben Larson did a header over the scorer’s table.

“When they have bodies flying everywhere, you lose some concentration,” Jackson said. “You have to stay focused with that wild press they throw at you.”

The Anteaters didn’t. They had 21 turnovers in the first half. They had seven turnovers in nine possessions during one stretch. Irvine had four consecutive turnovers in two minutes in the second half. It led to a 9-1 Mustang run.

“You are going to turn the ball over against Poly,” Baker said. “They practice that and live for it. What you can’t do is turn it over in bunches.”

Yet for all the fuss and bluster, it took a long time for San Luis Obispo to put the Anteaters away.

The Mustangs had two 9-0 runs in the first half. All they had to show for it was a 37-34 lead. Cotright, San Luis Obispo’s leading scorer, missed all nine of his shots in the first half.

Irvine limited San Luis Obispo’s three-point opportunities. The Mustangs, who average 30 three-pointers, made three of 19. They came into the game shooting 33% on threes.

Cotright scored 14 points in the second half and finished with 18. Four other Mustangs scored in double figures.

For a while, the Anteaters offset their poor ball handling with strong play inside. Brain Johnson finished with 22 points and Paul Foster scored 17. Irvine had a 43-31 rebound advantage.