Miglinieks, Williams Make Their Points as Irvine Wins

Two starters who were Oh-for-Arizona during UC Irvine’s last loss and a forgotten point guard whose playing time has been dwindling awakened Tuesday night to lead the Anteaters to an 89-73 nonconference victory over Oregon State.

Forward Kevin Simmons and point guard Raimonds Miglinieks, who did not score in a loss to the Sun Devils on Saturday night, combined for 27 points as Irvine won its home opener in front of 2,410 in the Bren Center.

Simmons had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Miglinieks, who played only 25 minutes because of foul problems, scored 10 points and had 12 assists.

Irvine (3-3) led by as many as 16 points midway through the first half, but needed guard Zuri Williams to steady the ship when the Beavers (3-4) closed to within 60-57 with 12:24 to play.

Williams, who played a season-high 15 minutes, had five assists and scored nine points, four on two driving layups as the Anteaters outscored Oregon State, 23-7, over the next eight minutes to put the game away.

“(Irvine) teams in the past might have let this kind of game get away,” Coach Rod Baker said. “We had our ups and down. We let it slide. But we never let it get away.

“Zuri Williams really stepped up in the second half and played the way he’s capable of playing. He used his athleticism, but he also took control of the team. Between Raimonds and Zuri, that’s a good 40 minutes at the point.”

Williams, a senior who has played in the shadows of several Irvine point guards, figures to play second fiddle to Miglinieks this time around. Miglinieks wowed the Anteater fans with his mastery of mystery passes--the ones that somehow get through a lot of traffic and find the hands of a teammate for a layup. Thanks primarily to him, Irvine’s post players were a combined nine of 10 from the field in the first half.

But Williams got a chance to handle the ball and run the team during a crucial stretch and he made the most of it.

“When they got it down to three, I thought, ‘Oh no, here we go again,’ ” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of leads disappear in my first three years here. But I’ve learned a little about leadership and this was my coming-out party.”