Douglass Watches UC Irvine Step Back

SALT LAKE CITY —  Pat Douglass has claimed ignorance to what sort of program he inherited, saying he has no idea what went on a year ago during UC Irvine’s 1-25 season.

Now he has some firsthand knowledge.

Utah’s 83-45 victory Saturday in front of 12,921 in the Huntsman Center had a familiar feel about it. Similar losses were common for Irvine a year ago, although they sometimes came at the hands of teams such as Eastern Washington and Cal State Fullerton.

The Utes (5-0), on the other hand, are ranked 16th in the nation and looked it in the second half. They outscored Irvine, 44-15, to give Douglass his worst defeat in more than a decade. He did not lose a game by more than 17 points in 10 seasons at Division II Cal State Bakersfield.

“We have to realize we are just starting a program,” Douglass said. “This isn’t about how I feel personally.

“I’m somewhat disappointed. We had every intention of playing well and we prepared to play. They were just too strong for us.”

This was the third Southland team the Utes (5-0) have mauled this season. They beat Cal State Fullerton by 28 and Loyola Marymount by 30. Utah plays at Azusa Pacific, an NAIA school, on Dec. 12.

“These are bastardized games,” Utah Coach Rick Majerus said. “They are going to hold the ball and try to keep the score close and I don’t blame them for that.

“I would love to play UCLA, have a home-and-home, give them a guarantee. They won’t play us. We have to take who we can get from Southern California because we want to recruit there.”

The Anteaters (1-3) made good fodder for the recruiting brochure. Utah shot 63%. The Utes had a 36-19 edge in rebounding. They had 10 players score.

Irvine put up a fight in the first half. The Anteaters fell down, 31-13, but went on a 17-4 run. Andrew Carlson’s six-foot jump hook over 6-foot-11 Michael Doleac cut the Ute lead to 35-30. It was the 6-10 Carlson’s first basket in 138 minutes 34 seconds this season.

The Anteaters could not sustain that momentum. The Utes scored the last four points for a 39-30 halftime lead and opened the second half with a 10-0 run.

The Utes have six players 6 feet 8 or taller, including All-American candidate Doleac and Hanno Mottola (6-10). Carlson was the only Irvine player taller than 6-7. Doleac made six of 10 shots and scored 19 points. Mottola made seven of nine shots and scored 16.

“We prepared for them, but when we got out there, they just muscled us out of the way,” Irvine forward Adam Stetson said.

Irvine was getting play that was abundant last season.

There was some sloppy ball handling--highlighted by a turnover by Ben Jones, who dribbled the ball off his foot and nearly put it in the basket.

There were long scoreless stretches. Juma Jackson hit a three-pointer for a 3-0 Anteater lead. They didn’t score again for nearly four minutes. Irvine went more than five minutes without a point to start the second half.

The Anteaters even lost some composure. Point guard Junior Bond was called for a technical foul after committing a foul early in the first half.

“We just got beat by 40 points,” Douglass aid. “I can’t say any person played well.”

Irvine shot 32% from the field.

“Against a team like that, we need be creative in our offense to get some shots,” said Irvine forward Ben Jones, who had a team-high 14 points.

The upside?

“Utah can handle about any of the teams in our league,” Douglass said. “And they sure handled us tonight.”