‘Eaters defense too much for Rams

FRESNO — Though the school was founded in 1892, this weekend is the first time the Winston-Salem State men’s basketball team has ever played on the West Coast.

And after the Rams shot 28% in a 53-41 loss to UC Irvine Saturday in the second of three round-robin games of the Basketball Travelers Classic at Fresno State’s Save Mart Center, they might not be in any hurry to return.

Winston-Salem (0-2), in the second year of a five-year transition from Division II to Division I, was defeated, 85-63, by Fresno State Friday night.

The Anteaters (1-1), who dropped their opener, 67-63, against South Alabama here Friday, were considerably more defensive against the North Carolina-based program known for its former coach, Clarence “Big House” Gaines, and former standout Earl “The Pearl” Monroe.

After Darrell Wonge made a three-pointer to give the Rams a 15-11 lead with 8:35 left in the first half, Winston-Salem posted just three field goals over the next 15 minutes, 51 seconds, allowing UCI to build a 38-25 cushion.

The Anteaters had 21 turnovers and made just two of 11 three-point attempts. But they kept the handcuffs on throughout to take some pressure off their offense.

“We take pride in our defense and we’ve been working on that a lot,” said UCI junior Patrick Sanders, who led the winners with 13 points, including seven free throws in eight attempts.

“I thought we had a good collective effort, defensively,” said UCI Coach Pat Douglass, who saw his team force 17 turnovers and harass the Rams into missing 36 of their 50 field-goal attempts.

What’s more, UCI allowed Winston-Salem to shoot only 14 free throws, while the ‘Eaters went to the line 33 times.

Winston-Salem was just five of 24 from three-point range (20.8%) and had the exact same shooting totals from the field in the second half.

UCI held the Rams without a field goal for separate stretches of 10:33, 5:18 and 4:57. Those stints alone represent more than an entire half without a basket for Winston-Salem.

UCI twice held opponents to fewer points last season — a 67-35 win over UC Riverside on Feb. 15 and a 94-40 thumping of Mississippi Valley State on Nov. 11.

But Saturday’s triumph represents only the third time in the last 126 games that an Anteater opponent has scored 41 or fewer points.

“There were times in our first game that we played adequate defense,” Douglass said. “But not being able to take care of the ball [25 turnovers], we gave up some transition buckets, so it was a really hard to assess where our defense was [Friday]. I don’t think we’re where we want to be, but I think there was an effort there, defensively, tonight, that was even more so than we had last year.”

The Anteaters finished the first half on a 17-8 run and opened the second 20 minutes with a 10-2 spurt. But needing only to cruise home, UCI had just two field goals in the final 10:11, while converting 11 of its final 15 foul shots during that same stretch.

The last of three Wonge three-pointers drew the Rams within 46-39 with 2:08 left, but UCI scored seven of the final nine points to earn its first win.

“It was a good to get a win,” said Douglass, whose team has opened 0-2 only twice during his 10-year tenure, “because we don’t know when the next one is coming.”

UC Irvine, in the middle of a stretch in which it will play seven games in 16 days, finishes the tournament today at 5 p.m. against host Fresno State.

UC Irvine will then play host to South Carolina Tuesday, before visiting Oregon (Friday) and Nevada (Nov. 21).

For the second straight night, UCI outrebounded its opponent, 33-30.

Junior center Darren Fells had eight points and a team-high eight rebounds, while freshmen Michael Hunter and Chris Osborn added eight and seven points, respectively, off the bench.

“I thought Hunter gave us a lift,” Douglass said of the 5-10 point guard.

Junior forward Adam Templeton chipped in six points, five rebounds and a team-high three assists.

Wonge was the only Rams player in double figures with 17 points.

Darius Floyd scored nine points. He made three of 10 from the field and two of seven from behind the three-point line.

Wonge led Winston-Salem State with eight rebounds.

Basketball Travelers Classic

UC Irvine 53,

Winston-Salem State 41

UC Irvine -- Sanders 13, Templeton 6, Fells 8, McIntosh 3, Awaji 6, Hunter 8, Osborn 7, DeCasas 2.

3-pt. goals -- Templeton 1, Hunter 1.

Fouled out -- None.

Technicals -- None.

Winston-Salem State -- Wonge 17, Carter 2, Durham 5, Fisher 2, Floyd 9, Moore 4, Wray 2.

3-pt. goals -- Wonge 3, Floyd 2.

Fouled out -- Peake.

Technicals -- None.

Halftime -- 28-23, UCI.