Still no home win for UCI

IRVINE — In need of a rebirth with seven days left before its Big West Conference opener, the UC Irvine men’s basketball team faces its own version of the classic chicken-or-the-egg philosophical quandary.

For the Anteaters, a 60-52 loser against nonconference visitor Utah Saturday at the Bren Events Center, it’s a matter of what needs to come first: confidence or a victory that might inspire confidence?

“A couple good wins always help your confidence,” UCI Coach Pat Douglass said, acknowledging that confidence is sorely lacking after a 2-10 start, an 0-4 mark at home to extend a home losing streak to five, as well as a season-worst one-for-10 three-point shooting performance against the Utes (7-5).

UCI, which typically relies on perimeter shooting to counter a lack of traditional back-to-the-basket inside scoring punch, had not made fewer than four three-pointers in any of its first 11 games. The Anteaters were averaging more than six threes per contest, coming in.

But starting guards Brett Lauer, who came in shooting 50% on his 40-three-point attempts, and Michael Hunter, who led the team with 22 three balls and was shooting 44.9% from threedom coming in, split evenly a zero-for-six performance from beyond the arc. In addition, reserves Derrick Strings and Chad DeCasas missed all three of their combined three-point attempts.

Only Kevin Bland, who was handling his share of inside and mid-range scoring on his way to a game-high 21 points, connected from beyond the 20-foot, 9-inch barrier. Bland was one for one outside the arc to save UCI from posting a goose egg beyond two-point territory.

“During the course of [the coming] week, we need to gain some confidence,” Douglass said. “We don’t shoot the ball as confidently as we need to shoot the ball.

“We had to make some shots from the perimeter, besides going inside a little bit [freshman Eric Wise had 13 points, most of which came against 7-2 senior center Luke Nevill]. “It’s hard to get cheap shots on [the Utes, who also start 6-10 junior Kim Tillie and posted a combined seven blocked shots] because they have that size inside. We got some good looks, but we didn’t bury any shots.”

The Anteaters’ inability to connect, particularly in the second half, when they made just nine of 27 field-goal tries to finish 20 of 56 for the game (35.7%), compromised their play defensively, Douglass said.

“Our inability to put points on the board led to us starting to lose our intensity, defensively,” Douglass said. “I thought we showed improvement, defensively. But it’s kind of hard for some of the younger guys to remain intense defensively, when we don’t score. We just lose that intensity and sense of purpose.”

The hosts who won their first 11 games at the Bren last season and were 12-0 in games played on campus before dropping the regular-season finale to visiting Cal State Fullerton, played with purpose the first 20 minutes, then again in the final nine minutes.

But in between came what Douglass called the recurring issue of an offensive drought.

Trailing Utah, 25-21, at halftime and 35-29 early after intermission, UCI endured a span of 6:04 without a point and 10:19 without a field goal, to allow Utah to pull away.

Douglass praised the defensive effort of the 6-5 Wise, who helped hold Nevill to 11 points, nearly 10 fewer than his season average.

Douglass also praised the play of the 6-8 Bland, who is flourishing after a recent shift to small forward. With 13 rebounds Saturday, Bland is averaging 15.5 points and 11 rebounds the last four games, including an all-tournament nod after three games at the Travelers’ Tip-Off Tournament.

Cal State Fullerton visits Saturday to open Big West play.

Nonconference

Utah 60, UC Irvine 52

Utah – Tillie 2, Nevill 11, Borha 18, Brown 13, Drca 12, Green 3, Kepkay 1.

3-pt. goals – Borha 4, Drca 2, Green 1.

UC Irvine – Bland 21, Wise 13, Folker 2, Lauer 4, Hunter 2, Strings 4, Atkinson 4, DeCasas 2.

3-pt. goals – Bland 1.

Halftime – Utah, 29-25.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at barry.faulkner@latimes.com.