Anteaters shoots for first Big West road victory

UC IRVINE AT LONG BEACH STATE

WHEN: Tonight, 7:05

WHERE: Walter Pyramid

RADIO: KUCI/FM 88.9

BREAKDOWN: The Anteaters (8-12, 3-4 in the Big West Conference) gave conference-leading Cal State Northridge a scare in Thursday’s 69-64 Big West Conference road loss … Long Beach State (4-15, 1-6) did the same, at least for 20 minutes, to second-place Cal State Fullerton in a 91-75 setback at Long Beach Thursday … Both the Anteaters and 49ers have struggled in games played away from their respective campuses (UCI is 1-12 and Long Beach is 0-11), but the 49ers, under first-year coach Dan Monson are only 4-4 at the Walter Pyramid … This is the second of four straight conference road games for UCI, which is 7-0 in games played on its campus … The 49ers are led by 6-foot-3 junior Donovan Morris, a Fresno State transfer who is averaging 19.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game … UCI is led by seniors Patrick Sanders (15.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game) and Darren Fells (13.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg) … UCI has displayed improved defense its last two games, including a home win over UC Riverside on Jan. 26 … This is part of the Black and Blue all-sports rivalry series between the neighboring schools, which, entering today, is tied, 9-9.

— Barry Faulkner