Miglinieks Says Goodbye With Flair

IRVINE —  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 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 stop applauding. Miglinieks, who leads the nation in assists, had a hand in eight of his teammates’ baskets with the usual array of crowd-pleasing-and-defense-befuddling passes through traffic.

He also made six of seven of his own shots--including four of five three-pointers--and 11 of 12 free throws, scoring 27 points 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, 11-5 in conference) loses its last two regular-season games--Thursday at San Jose State and Sunday at Pacific--it will finish in a tie for second at worst. And the Anteaters hold the advantage in any tiebreaker scenario.

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

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

Eustachy wasn’t around to see the Anteaters, who have suddenly discovered their touch from the free-throw line after struggling for a month, make 10 in a row in the final 2 1/2 minutes. Miglinieks, who made six of them, also made five of six with 4 1/2 minutes remaining in the first half after the Aggies’ Jon Wickizer got a technical foul and Eustachy got two--and the obligatory ejection--for complaining about the first call.

The Anteaters, who have beaten every team in the conference at least once, need only two victories in the tournament to make their first-ever NCAA appearance, but they aren’t planning on a relaxing trip up north this weekend.

“We’re really focused now,” said Brian Keefe, who scored 15 points. “Wins like this are really fun, but we’re not celebrating yet. We’re keyed in on winning the league.”

The Anteaters jumped to an 18-5 lead then let the Aggies (15-14, 9-8) roar back with a 10-0 run. They went ahead, 28-17, on a Miglinieks’ three-pointer, then watched the Aggies outscore them, 11-2. They scored the first two points of the second half to go up by nine, then yielded an 11-0 run to fall behind, 45-43.

But when Utah State took a three-point lead, Miglinieks hit a three-pointer. When the Aggies went ahead by two, he scored on a five-foot fallaway jumper.

“It’s not so much how many points he scores, it’s when he makes them,” said Kermit Davis, the associate head coach who took over for Eustachy. “He makes all the shots that keep you from getting the momentum.”

The Aggies, however, were up for one last rally and when Justin Jones came off an Eric Franson screen and made a three-pointer with 18 seconds left in the game, they trailed by only three, 77-74. The crowd, howling for an illegal screen call on Franson for flattening Irvine freshman Clay McKnight on the play, got its wish four seconds later.

Keefe couldn’t hold onto the inbounds pass and Utah State came right back with same play. This time, Franson was called for a foul and Miglinieks hit both free throws with 14 seconds left.

Clearly, things are going the Anteaters’ way lately.

“Last season, we didn’t know how to win,” Miglinieks said. “Now we all feel so confident in each other. We’re making the extra pass. Every time we get the ball, we feel like we’re going to make the right play.”