UC Irvine Uses All Its Weapons to Defeat Titans

On a night when UC Irvine’s top three forwards were either ill or hobbled by injuries, on a night when their top two scorers in the conference took a total of six shots, on a night when they were outrebounded by 19, the Anteaters still found a way to win.

And that says a lot about Irvine’s evolution from a ready-to-fold-at-any-excuse collection of players to a team that uses all its weapons, explores all its options, answers challenges and has scratched its way into second place.

Irvine, led by the second-half play of reserves Paul Foster and Clay McKnight, turned back a Cal State Fullerton rally Saturday night and held on for an 85-75 victory in front of 3,336 in the Bren Center. It was the first time Irvine (12-7 and 8-3 in the Big West) had beaten the Titans (5-15, 4-8) in Irvine since Rod Baker became coach in 1991.

Leading scorer Kevin Simmons, who is fighting the flu, and No. 2 scorer Raimonds Miglinieks each had only five points. Forwards Shaun Battle, who has a sprained wrist, and Michael Tate, who missed Tuesday’s game because of a sprained ankle, played through their injuries to contribute a combined 24 points and nine rebounds.

“We have quality players coming off the bench to fill the gap when some guys are sub-par,” Baker said. “They have a responsibility to do something with that increased time and Paul and Clay did that tonight.”

McKnight, a freshman from Mater Dei, sparked the Anteaters when the Titans came back from an 11-point halftime deficit to take a one-point lead, 49-48, with 13 minutes 39 seconds left to play. Twenty seconds later, McKnight hit a three-pointer. When the Titans pulled to within two points with 9:37 left, he slipped in another. And when Fullerton cut the Anteater lead to three with 6:50 to play, he hit a third.

And Foster, who finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, helped Irvine, which lost to the Titans in Fullerton on Jan. 13, get payback with a putback. Fullerton trailed, 71-68, with 4:42 left when he scored on a follow shot, and the Anteaters’ lead was never fewer than five points after that.

“I think the guys on the bench, like Paul and myself, have gotten a lot more comfortable because we’re getting more playing time,” McKnight said. “Those early-season jitters are gone and now we’re confident we can contribute to the team.”

The Anteaters also are taking what opponents are giving them these days, and often winning in the process. In the first game against the Titans, Miglinieks had 17 points. This time, Fullerton denied him the open shots, so he passed, and passed some more.

He leads the nation in assists and the 15 he picked up Saturday night will keep him there. He’s averaging 9.1 assists per game.

“Raimonds is a heck of a player,” Titan Coach Bob Hawking said. “We tried to do some different things, but he’s able to overcome what you do. He’s so unselfish that no matter what you do to him, he’s going to be able to create something.”

As has been his habit in the past month, a stretch during which the Anteaters have won seven of eight games, Miglinieks grabbed control of the game in the waning minutes. With 3 1/2 minutes to play, he tossed a lob in deep to Battle, who scored on a short turnaround. A minute later, he penetrated and fired a pass out to Brian Keefe--Irvine’s leading scorer on the night with 18 points--who buried a three-pointer. And with 1:31 remaining, he shot a dart through traffic to Keefe underneath for an uncontested layup.

“All five guys on the floor, no matter who they are, can score,” Miglinieks said.

The Anteaters’ loss at Fullerton was a turning point, an uninspired performance that seemed to hammer home the idea that they must play hard every night.

“We now have guys who have said, ‘OK, that’s enough,’ ” Baker said. “And because of that, we’re not going to get into the extended [losing] situations that might have happened in the past.”