Anteaters Finally End Their Losing Streak

IRVINE — UC Irvine’s Lamarr Parker, admittedly in a daze, saw the last shot go up and waited for the bad news.

“I didn’t hear the referee’s whistle and the shot didn’t go in,” Parker said. “I don’t think I would have been surprised if those things happened. I would have just chalked it up to the way the season has been.”

Instead, the three-point attempt by Nevada’s Jimmy Carroll glanced off the rim at the buzzer. Irvine was winless no more.

The Anteaters held on for a 76-74 overtime victory Thursday in front of 854 at the Bren Center. The few fans in attendance ran onto the court, while Parker and his teammates group-hugged. Then, what was the nation’s last winless team, and its coach, began to talk tough.

“I guess it would be easy to say this is a relief,” Coach Rod Baker said. “But we have played well the last few nights out.

“Getting one win is not our goal here. We want to win the conference. The best thing is that [the media] will stop talking about it. It’s old news. We’re here to win a bunch of games.”

Still, until Thursday, they hadn’t won one. Irvine (1-13, 1-4), which had been blown out repeatedly this season, was coming off a one-point loss to UC Santa Barbara on Saturday. The effects didn’t linger.

Wendell Robinson sank a five-foot jumper with 18 seconds left for 75-74 lead. Brian Johnson then blocked a shot by Paul Culbertson with six seconds left and beat everyone to the loose ball. Johnson was fouled and made one of two free throws.

All that was left was sweating out Carroll’s last shot.

“I would have been mad if it went in,” Robinson said. “We worked hard for this one. We felt it was our night.”

If the stars weren’t aligned, the circumstances were at least right.

Nevada (10-6, 4-2), which had won five consecutive games, was without point guard Richard Brown, who strained a groin muscle in Tuesday’s practice. Tim Barnett, Brown’s replacement, and Faron Hand, the Wolf Pack’s leading scorer, each picked up his fourth foul with 11 minutes left.

Still, the Wolf Pack had a 63-56 lead with six minutes left. Then Parker took over. He scored seven points in a two-minute stretch. His two free throws tied the score, 64-64. Parker followed that with a three-pointer to give the Anteaters a three-point lead.

Parker also made a key three-pointer to tie the score in overtime.

“He makes them all the time in practice,” Baker said.

Parker had made five of 34 three-pointers in games before Thursday. He finished with 22 points and a career-high 11 assists.

Both teams had a chance to win in regulation. Irvine’s Juma Jackson missed a driving layup with nine seconds left. Culbertson, who scored a career-high 21 points, missed a 17-footer at the buzzer.

“We didn’t worry about what the score was all night,” Baker said. “We played at our pace and played to our strengths.”

The inside game in particular. Johnson scored 15 points, 11 in the first half. Paul Foster scored 12 points. Robinson scored 11 points. As a result, Irvine shot 52.9%.

Defensively, the Anteaters had their best game. Parker hounded Carroll, limiting him to one shot in the first half. Carroll, who averages 14.3 points, finished two of six from the field and scored eight. Hand had 17 points, but had to work for each one.

“The Anteaters were playing to win and we were playing not to lose,” Nevada Coach Pat Foster said.

Irvine got that win, and is looking for more.

“After we walk out of this locker room, we’ve got to prepare for the next game,” Jackson said. “We got a taste of victory now. We want to taste some more.”