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UC IRVINE GAME #3
UC Irvine (0-2) vs. Weber State (2-0)
Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011 – 4:30 p.m.
Bren Events Center (5,000) – Irvine, California
Series Record: Weber State leads 1-0
Last Meeting: WSU won 83-65 (12/29/83 in SLC)
Radio: KUCI/88.9 FM (Mark Roberts, 18th Season, & Steve Henkle)
'EATERS, WILDCATS MEET FOR JUST 2ND TIME: UC Irvine and Weber State meet for just the second time in history Saturday.
The two schools met for the initial time in the 1983 Utah Classic at Salt Lake City, with the Wildcats winning 83-65 on the first night of the tournament (12/29/83). Ben McDonald led the 'Eaters with 19 points and Tod Murphy added 18 points and 14 rebounds.
HOME OPENER: Saturday marks the 2011-12 home opener for UCI, which is coming off Bay Area losses of 77-56 to then-No. 24 Cal and 51-50 to San Jose State.
SUCCESS IN HOME DEBUTS: UCI is 34-12 (.739) in previous home openers, including a 75-60 win over Navy last season in the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.
DAVIS LEADS UCI: Freshman forward Will Davis II leads the 'Eaters in scoring at 10.0 points per game and also in rebounding with an average of 9.0 boards.
Sophomore guard Chris McNealy is averaging 9.0 points and 4.5 rebounds, and freshman guard Aaron Wright is averaging 7.5 points after two games.
Redshirt junior center Adam Folker, who is averaging 6.0 points, has pulled down 12 rebounds in the first two games with seven of those boards off the offensive glass.
Junior guard Daman Starring has seven assists on the season, including five in the season opener at Cal.
THE BREN TURNS 25: January marks the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Bren Events Center on the UC Irvine campus. The center opened Jan. 8, 1987, when the 'Eaters defeated Utah State, 118-96, on the strength of 43 points by Scott Brooks. Brooks is head coach of the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder and the 2010 NBA Coach of the Year.
UCI is 185-138 all-time in regular-season games at the Bren Center. The 'Eaters are 104-41 (.717) in the Bren dating back to February 2000. UCI was 9-6 at home last season.
KIA MOTORS AMERICA DISPLAYS SUPPORT: UCI women's basketball player Cheyenne Cathey will be presented with a KIA Motors America (KMA) Student-Athlete Scholarship during the men's basketball game on Saturday.
KIA Motors America (KMA) is dedicated to providing support and assistance to the Orange County Community and is a proud supporter of the University of California, Irvine. KIA Motors' $25,000 scholarship to UCI Athletics reflects the company's ongoing support of UC Irvine and education as a whole.
Cathey, a business economics major received this scholarship because she demonstrates the qualities that KIA Motors America believes will help them continue down the road of success as a leader within the community – Those qualities are dedication, performance, persistence, commitment and teamwork.
TALENTED WILDCATS: An impressive Weber State team visits the Bren Center Saturday.
Junior guard Scott Bamforth, who scored a career-high 28 points in Tuesday night's 73-63 win over Utah State, leads the Wildcats in scoring at 22.5 points per game.
Junior guard Damian Lillard follows with a 21.0 scoring average and senior forward Kyle Bullinger is averaging 9.5 points and 9.0 rebounds.
Bullinger is a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award and was a member of the All-Big Sky Conference first team last season, as was Bamforth. Lillard was the 2010 Big Sky Conference MVP and is a two-time All-Big Sky first team selection.
Sixth-year head coach Randy Rahe's Wildcats are heavy favorites to win the Big Sky title. Weber State opened the season with a 109-50 win over Northern New Mexico.
The Wildcats, 18-14 last season, have advanced to a postseason tournament each of the last three years, including the College Basketball Invitational last March.
ALASKA-BOUND NEXT WEEK: UCI competes in the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout next week. The 'Eaters open against Southern Miss Thursday (Thanksgiving) night at 9:30 p.m. PST.
UCI will face Central Michigan or New Mexico State on Friday, Nov. 25. The tournament in Anchorage concludes Nov. 26.
RECAP FROM SJSU GAME: Two free throws by Keith Shamburger with 6.2 seconds left proved to be the difference as San Jose State edged UC Irvine, 51-50, in a non-conference game at San Jose Monday night.
A tip-in by UCI's Adam Folker at the buzzer was initially ruled good, but was waved off by the officials after they reviewed a video replay for several minutes.
Wright, a freshman, led UCI with 14 points and Will Davis II, another frosh, added 12 points and nine rebounds. Folker had eight points and nine boards in 20 minutes, with five of his rebounds off the offensive glass.
San Jose State built a 16-4 lead in the opening 6 ½ minutes of the first half but UCI came back to trail just 25-21 at the break as Wright scored nine of his points in the opening 20 minutes.
After UCI tied the game at 35-35 on a jumper by Chris McNealy with 12:22 remaining, the Spartans gradually built their lead back up to 45-37 on two free throws from James Kinney with 6:27 left.
The Anteaters then went on an 11-2 run to take its first lead of the game at 48-47 on a three-point play by Folker with 3:15 remaining.
After Shamburger hit two free throws to put the Spartans up 49-48 with 2:14 left, Folker converted a layup off an assist from Collin Woods to give UCI a 50-49 lead with 1:53 remaining, setting up the late dramatics in the final seconds.
RECAP FROM CAL GAME: UCI outscored No. 24 California in the second half but it was the opening 20 minutes that caused the Anteaters difficulties as the Bears won 77-56 in the season opener for both teams at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley Nov. 11.
Allen Crabbe led Cal with 24 points, scoring 16 in the second half. Jorge Gutierrez scored all 11 of his points in the opening 20 minutes as Cal raced to a 48-23 lead at halftime.
Sophomore guard Chris McNealy led UCI with 14 points and added two assists and two steals. Freshman center Will Davis II added eight points and nine boards while Michael Wilder and Collin Woods added six points apiece with each hitting a pair of threes in the second half, when UCI had a 33-29 scoring advantage over the Bears.
The Anteaters cut the 25-point halftime deficit to 13 points at 63-50 on a pair of free throws from McNealy with 8:06 left.
Cal went up 67-52 on a free throw by Brandon Smith with 6:00 remaining before McNealy hit a jumper to pull UCI within 13 again at 67-54 with 3:50 left. The Bears went on a 10-2 run from that point to record the 21-point victory.
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