Irvine Routs Utah St. in New Home

On the night they traded in broken-down and outdated Crawford Hall for spacious and shiny Bren Center, the UC Irvine Anteaters nearly eclipsed the greatest legend of the tiny gym that housed them for 20 years.

Kevin Magee’s school one-game scoring record of 46 points barely survived Thursday’s Bren Center opener, a 118-96 Irvine victory over Utah State. With 4,542 fans settling into the $15 million arena for the first time, Irvine guard Scott Brooks sank 12 of 19 shots, including 7 of 14 three-point attempts, for 43 points.

It was the second-highest scoring total in Irvine history, Magee’s 1981 record standing alone only when Brooks’ final shot, a three-point try with 1:02 left, kicked off the heel of the rim and bounced long.

Six seconds later, Anteater Coach Bill Mulligan removed Brooks from the game.

“No way Brooks was going to break Magee’s record,” said Mulligan, who might have been joking. Mulligan has said that Irvine’s new arena should be named the Magee Center--”because he was the one who put this program on the map.” In his two seasons in Crawford Hall, Magee led the Anteaters to records of 23-7 and 17-10 and once led the nation in scoring.

Now, Magee is a high-scoring, highly paid professional playing in Israel.

“Magee would’ve called me from Israel if his record was broken,” Mulligan said.

Mulligan then broke into a wide grin. Both he and Brooks claimed no knowledge of the potential record as the final minutes ticked away.

“I knew I had a lot of points, but I thought I was somewhere around 32,” Brooks said.

Mulligan: “My assistant (Bob Thate) told me, ‘I think he has over 40.’ If I’d known he had 43 at the time, I would’ve taken him out earlier. We gave him a chance to tie it with that three-pointer at the end.”

Brooks, a 5-10 senior guard, reached 43 points despite a 3-for-7 first half, which included four misses in four three-point attempts. But in the second half, he hit five straight three-pointers in one stretch, scoring 29 points in 20 minutes.

Brooks’ previous high had been 36 points, which he set against Nebraska, Nov. 28 in Crawford Hall. After closing Crawford a month later with a victory over Pepperdine, Brooks all but shed tears over the impending move to the Bren Center.

“I love this old gym,” Brooks had said. “I going to hate to leave it.”

His thoughts now?

“Where’s Crawford Hall?,” he said with a smile. “I love it here. It’s my favorite place.”

Mulligan, whose team evened its record at 6-6 for the season and won for the first time in three Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. games, also had glowing reviews for the Bren Center.

“This is a great place,” he said. “Especially the result.”