Lions go ice cold in defeat

COSTA MESA — Three minutes is an acceptable cooking time for a soft-boiled egg. When the same amount of time produces nothing but goose eggs, however, most men’s basketball coaches are going to get more than a little steamed.

In the first 30 minutes of its 73-57 nonconference loss to visiting Cal State Los Angeles Saturday night, Vanguard University endured six separate stretches of at least three minutes between field goals.

One of those droughts spanned six minutes, 33 seconds early in the game, helping the Golden Eagles (2-4) build a 17-6 lead from which Vanguard (2-6) never fully recovered.

“We just can’t score right now,” Vanguard Coach Fred Litzenberger said. “I mean, we can’t make a basket.”

Vanguard, which came in shooting just better than 37% from the field this season, made just seven of 27 field-goal attempts in the first half. It wasn’t until Greg Scott sank a three-pointer with 3:14 left before intermission that the Lions had not gone at least three minutes between buckets.

“We have no rhythm,” Litzenberger said. “Everything we’ve been working on doesn’t seem to work. When we end up with good shots, we can’t make ’em. And when two or three guys try to take [the offense] upon themselves, the result can be bad shots. We took so many tough shots and we’re not going to make those. When you can’t make a shot, everything looks ugly, which it is.”

The Lions’ offensive efficiency improved somewhat in the second half (43.3% shooting to put them at 35.1% for the game — 20 of 57. But The Golden Eagles, an NCAA Division II team coached by former Syracuse standout Stephen Thompson, did more than enough to keep the hosts at bay.

“They made some tough shots,” Litzenberger said of the visitors, who finished 25 of 59 from the field (42.4%) and also amassed a 45-30 rebound advantage. “They played better than we did.”

Scott, a junior point guard, junior forward Dennis Heenan, a Newport Harbor High product, and senior guard Andrew Ellis, combined for 48 points for the Lions. But they were among eight Vanguard players who attempted shots that missed more than half of their attempts.

Mitch Boyce, a 6-foot-11 junior transfer from Nicholls State, came off the bench to produce eight points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots in what Litzenberger called his best game of the season.

But five Lions went scoreless and another, junior starter Elvis Whitelow, managed just one free throw.

Somehow, Vanguard found itself within 63-57 when Scott nailed a three-pointer with 1:22 left.

But that was the end of the Lions’ scoring for the night and the visitors continued their impressive free-throw shooting down the stretch to close out the win.

The Golden Eagles made their final 12 foul shots and sank 15 of 16 after halftime to finish 19 of 24 from the stripe.

Vanguard, idle since Dec. 6 in order to take semester finals, will have another week on the practice floor before playing host to Indiana Wesleyan Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

“We definitely need it,” Litzenberger said of the practice time. “We’ve got to find something we can run as a staple and get scoring from.”

Nonconference

Cal State Los Angeles 73, Vanguard 57

CSLA – Fields 21, Mark 16, Smith 6, Hart 9, Bell 8, D. Jones 9, Polo 4.

3-pt. goals – Fields 1, Hart 1, D. Jones 1, Bell 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

VU – Heenan 16, Trajceski 0, Scott 17, Ellis 15, Whitelow 1, Boyce 8.

3-pt. goals – Scott 3, Heenan 2.

Fouled out – Whitelow.

Technicals – None.

Halftime – CSLA, 34-21.

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