Irvine’s Miglinieks Says Goodbye in Style

UC Irvine’s Raimonds Miglinieks took a look around the Bren Center during senior night ceremonies before Monday night’s game against Utah State and said he felt a sudden and unexpected wave of nostalgia.

“It was strange,” he said. “I hadn’t thought about it before, but I will be missing this place. It’s been a great two years here.”

The 4,261 who gave Miglinieks a standing ovation before the game had no reason to sit down or stop applauding. Miglinieks, who leads the nation in assists, had a hand in eight of his teammates’ baskets. But he also made six of seven of his own shots--including four of five three-point tries--and 11 of 12 free throws as the Anteaters earned a first-round bye in the Big West Conference tournament with an 81-76 victory over the Aggies.

Even if Irvine, 15-9 overall and 11-5 in conference, loses its last two regular-season games--Thursday at San Jose State and Sunday at Pacific--it will at least finish in a tie for second. And the Anteaters hold the advantage in any tiebreaker scenario.

Utah State Coach Larry Eustachy told Miglinieks before the game that he had voted for him for Big West most valuable player. He hadn’t changed his mind afterward.

“He’s a great, great player,” Eustachy said. “He hits all the big shots.”

Miglinieks led all scorer with 27 points and sophomores Brian Keefe and Kevin Simmons each had 15. The Aggies (15-4, 9-8) shot 57% from the floor and were led by Silas Mills, who scored 20.

The Anteaters made 10 free throws in a row in the final 2 1/2 minutes.