UC Irvine Rolls Past CS Northridge

Coach Rod Baker no longer must describe the type of effort he wants out of the UC Irvine basketball team.

He need now only pop in a tape of the Anteaters’ 93-82 nonconference victory over Cal State Northridge on Saturday night.

“If you could paint the picture, this is what you would want it to be,” Baker said.

Irvine got career-high scoring performances from Todd Whitehead and Zuri Williams as the Anteaters (2-2) earned their first Division I victory of the season.

Whitehead, a sophomore from Los Angeles Fremont High, had 21 points in only 17 minutes. Williams, a junior from Oakland, had 16 points, marking the first time he has scored in double figures.

Brooklyn McLinn equaled his career high for Northridge with 18 points, including 15 in the second half when he made five of seven three-point shots.

Northridge (1-6) had five players score in double figures, but the Matadors shot only 36.4% in the second half.

Irvine trailed, 56-48, four minutes into the second half, but the Anteaters outscored the Matadors, 15-3, over the next three minutes.

Peter Micelli had 14 points for Northridge, and Andre Chevalier and Robert Hill each added 13.