Brown Makes a Comeback : Colleges: Guard breaks out of three-point shooting slump as Anteaters win fourth game in a row, beating UNLV, 82-69.

The 30-foot banner has been in evidence in the north end of the Bren Center for a month, pleading for the return of “Brownie” in yard-high blue-and-gold letters. But Chris Brown, the nation’s No. 1 three-point shooter last season, has been either on the bench or ineffective on the floor.

In 10 games before Thursday night’s contest against UNLV, Brown--who averaged almost five three-pointers per game last season--had scored in double figures only once.

But Brown exploded out of his funk against the Runnin’ Rebels, hitting six of 10 shots from beyond the arc as Irvine won its fourth consecutive game for the first time since 1987 with an 82-69 Big West victory in front of 2,494 in the Bren Center.

“I tend to get down on myself a lot and I just wasn’t having any fun,” Brown said. “So I came into this game thinking that I would stop worrying about the past and concentrate on playing for the moment, doing whatever I could to be an asset to this team.”

The Anteaters (8-9, 4-6 in conference) had lost 12 in a row to UNLV (7-9, 4-6). But they came out in high gear, grabbed a 10-point lead midway through the first half and led by as many as 16 in the second half. Point guard Raimonds Miglinieks fueled the energized Anteaters’ charge with a school-record 17 assists. Bryan Williams had 16 against Pepperdine in 1984.

“I knew the UCI record was 16, but I didn’t know how much I had,” Miglinieks said. “I had no time to think about records. I just have to thank my teammates, like Chris Brown and Kevin (Simmons) and (Khalid) Channell because they have to finish.”

Simmons, the freshman forward who leads Irvine in scoring and rebounding, has a definite finishing touch. Simmons and Miglinieks look as if they’ve been playing together for years instead of months.

“All I have to do is run and I get the ball,” Simmons said. “That’s all I have to do.”

Simmons led the Anteaters with 21 points, hitting seven of 11 shots from the floor. Channell came off the bench to make six of 10 shots for 12 points. He also had seven rebounds and two steals. It’s hard to find an unimpressive line in the box score. Freshman Brian Keefe, who now starts ahead of Brown, made both of the three-pointers he attempted and four of five from the field for 10 points. Irvine shot 50% from the floor and outrebounded the Rebels, 35-31.

UNLV closed the gap to seven points with 2 minutes 17 seconds to play, but Irvine quickly rebounded from the lapse to win easily. UNLV guard Damian Smith, who scored 24 points, made six of 11 three-pointers to keep the Rebels from losing by 20 or more.

“This was a really, really big win for us and a big night for Chris,” Irvine Coach Rod Baker said. “I think there were 14 or 15 guys out there who were genuinely happy for Chris Brown tonight. It helped everyone else.”

Irvine continues to win with its simple-but-successful 2-3 zone. It’s a defense that won’t win you any macho points in college basketball these days, but the Anteaters have embraced it.

“I wish I knew why it does what it does,” Baker said, smiling. “But we are starting to get a good feel for it. We’re rebounding well and tonight we got some key steals when guys dropped down into the passing lanes.”