Irvine’s Simmons Injured; Oregon State Wins

UC Irvine, riding an all-time high in New York a week ago, came crashing back down to earth in a hurry Saturday.

And it wasn’t only the 64-57 loss to Oregon State in front of 3,851 in Gill Coliseum that cast a pall over the Anteater locker room. Late in the second half, Kevin Simmons went down under the Beaver basket writhing in pain and had to be carried from the court.

Simmons, the Big West freshman of the year last season, apparently injured a muscle in his right calf. Whether the muscle is torn or strained will determine the length of time he will be out.

“Hopefully, it won’t be more than a week or maybe two,” trainer Jeff Landskov said.

Simmons initially thought he was kicked, but the pain intensified instead of lessened as he rolled on the floor.

“I still think I was kicked, but I don’t know, the pain just kept getting worse,” he said. “I still can’t walk. I can’t step down flat-footed on it at all.”

Oregon State (1-2) shot 42% and had 15 turnovers, but the Beavers’ defensive effort and execution had a decided effect on the game. Point guard Markee Brown, who also had a game-high 17 points, did a splendid job of taking Raimonds Miglinieks out of his game.

Irvine’s all-conference point guard finished with 11 points and seven assists. The Anteaters (2-1) shot 37% and were six for 21 on three-point attempts.