Anteaters come up short in first round

ANAHEIM — Against a team playing its first Big West Conference Tournament game in program history, it was UC Irvine that found itself lacking the comfort of precedent Wednesday night.

The No. 5-seeded Anteaters had the basketball with 3.6 seconds left, trailing by one, after No. 8-seeded UC Davis had consumed nearly five seconds by issuing the two fouls that took it to the brink of the bonus at the Anaheim Convention Center.

UCI junior guard Michael Hunter took the inbound pass and darted toward the right wing, eventually pulling up for an 18-foot fallaway jumper that bounced off the rim as time expired.

What would have been UCI’s first game-winning last-second shot of the season instead ended the season for the ’Eaters (12-19).

It was the Aggies (13-18), for whom sophomore guard Mark Payne netted two one-and-one free throws with 8.2 seconds left, that earned a 69-68 victory to advance to tonight’s quarterfinals.

“We haven’t been in that situation a lot,” Douglass said of the final seconds. “That is just kind of a spread-court situation and, hopefully, you can make a play. [Hunter] got the ball and tried the best he could to get a shot up.”

Hunter said he was redirected by a UC Davis big man who hedged on a screen. Hunter, however, said he thought the shot had a chance when it left his hands.

Some might have doubted UC Davis’ chances with 9:22 left, when UCI held a 53-44 lead after starting the second half with a 21-10 surge that included baskets by six players.

But a 10-foot runner by senior first-team all-conference guard Vince Oliver pulled the Aggies even at 59-all with 5:40 left.

UCI regained the lead on a follow shot by second-team all-conference freshman Eric Wise with 2:31 left, only to see the Aggies respond to take a 67-64 edge with 1:22 remaining.

But sophomore guard Patrick Rembert drove the lane and dished to senior Kevin Bland for a UCI layup. Then, after Bland blocked Oliver’s layup attempt with 49 seconds left, Rembert finished a drive with a left-handed layin to put UCI up, 68-67, with 36 seconds left.

UC Davis, having had some chances to win games on its final possession this season, did not call a timeout.