UCI rally comes up short

IRVINE — In a little more than the final seven minutes, UC Irvine men’s basketball players went from being “posterized” by visiting UC Davis, to being poster boys for valiant comebacks.

But, in the end — an off-balance jumper to beat the buzzer by Anteaters sophomore guard Patrick Rembert to be exact — the feel-good finish in an 88-85 Big West Conference verdict was the one celebrated in the Aggies’ locker room.

Rembert, who may or may not have been behind the three-point line (three courtside observers said he was inside the 20-foot-9 arc, while Rembert was sure he was behind it), came up short on the shot that was altered by a Davis defender who got a hand up on the left wing.

The air ball, which sailed out of bounds as the buzzer sounded, allowed the Aggies (8-10, 3-2 in conference) to avert losing a 69-51 lead they held with 7:20 left.

A furious UCI run that included six three-pointers, one more than the hosts (5-12, 3-2) had during the first 33 minutes, helped UCI scrap and claw within a possession of trying to force overtime.

Senior Brett Lauer hit a three-pointer with nine seconds left to pull UCI within 87-85 and UC Davis sophomore Mark Payne left the window open by missing the first of two double-bonus foul shots with five seconds left.

UCI, with no timeouts, hurried the ball upcourt and found Rembert, who double pumped, and then hoisted on his way down, to no avail.

“I knew I was outside [the three-point arc],” Rembert said. “They got a hand up and I just tried to get it under his hand and not get blocked. I just wanted to get it toward the rim.”

Hitting the rim was sometimes problematic for UCI, which totaled eight air balls (only two of which were blocked shots), including one Lauer baseline offering to beat the shot clock that hit the rear half of the side of the backboard.

UCI shot just 28% from the field before halftime (seven of 25), allowing Davis to seize a 39-26 advantage.

And if UCI was inspired by its halftime meeting, it did not show initially after the break.

Dominic Calegari, a 6-10 junior, finished an alley-oop dunk, which became a three-point play when he was fouled, to open the second-half scoring. About one minute later, Calegari took one step and dunked to cap a 7-2 Davis run to open the second half.

With 15:16 left in the game, the Aggies’ highlight reel continued, as Payne flushed a lob pass out of a half-court set, silencing most of the 2,646 in attendance.

Davis, which finished 29 of 59 from the field (53.7%), pushed its lead to 18 after a three-pointer by sophomore Notre Dame transfer Joe Harden capped a 7-0 surge with 7:34 left.

Michael Hunter connected three times from threedom in the ensuing UCI rally, which included a pair of three balls from Lauer and another from Rembert.

Rembert, penetrating at will, scored nine of the UCI’s final 16 points to finish with a career-high 17, all after halftime. His seven assists nearly doubled his previous best of four.

UCI freshman post Eric Wise virtually was the offense during long stretches and finished with a team-high 19 points. Lauer (14), Hunter (12) and freshman Derrick Strings (11) also scored in double figures for the ’Eaters.

Senior Kevin Bland led UCI with eight rebounds, but had two points before fouling out with 12:13 left, having played just 14 minutes.

“It was a good comeback, but you don’t want to be coming back at home,” UCI Coach Pat Douglass said. “We played a very good team and it’s a very difficult matchup for us. They ran good stuff and they were very difficult for us to defend.”

Davis senior Vince Oliver was eight of 12 from the field and eight of eight from the foul line to produce a game-high 24 points.

“I think we showed a lot of heart,” Rembert said. “Coach brought us in the huddle [during a second-half timeout] and asked us ‘Do you guys want to play?’ We all decided we wanted to come out and show the crowd we weren’t going to quit.”

Big West Conference

UC Davis 88, UC Irvine 85

UCD – Harden 16, Calegari 10, Oliver 24, Carter 8, Payne 6, Brucculeri 8, Silva 8, Lowenthal 6, Malik 2.

3-pt. goals – Silva 2, Brucculeri 2, Calegari 1, .

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

UCI – Bland 2, Folker 2, Wise 19, Lauer 14, Hunter 12, Rembert 17, Strings 11, DeCasas 4, Atkinson 4.

3-pt. goals – Hunter 4, Lauer 4, Rembert 2, Strings 1.

Fouled out – Bland.

Technicals – None.

Halftime – UCD, 39-26.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at [email protected].