IRVINE, Calif. --- Senior guard Daman Starring scored a career-high 25 points as UC Irvine defeated Nevada, 78-64, in the season opener for both teams Saturday night at the Bren Events Center.
Starring hit 10 of 10 free throws and added seven rebounds. Senior Michael Wilder had 12 points and 11 rebounds for his sixth career double-double, and freshman guard Alex Young also scored 12 points hitting 4 of his 5 shots.
An 11-0 run by the 'Eaters during a stretch of 5 ½ minutes of the second half helped UCI build a 58-39 lead.
Leading 47-39 with 18:21 remaining, the 'Eaters scored the next 11 points, capped by basket from Young with 12:57 left to go up by 11.
Senior Adam Folker had nine rebounds along with six points, and sophomore Will Davis II registered eight points, seven boards and four blocked shots.
UCI outrebounded the Wolf Pack, 51-37, as the 'Eaters pulled down 21 offensive rebounds and had seven put-backs for baskets.
Senior guard Malik Story led Nevada with 21 points and junior guard Deonte Burton, last season's WAC Player of the Year, was held to eight. Nevada is in its first year in the Mountain West Conference.
UCI committed just eight turnovers and shot 39.4 percent from the field, while the Wolf Pack had 11 turnovers and shot 34.5 percent.
The two teams combined to shoot 69 free throws in the contest with UCI hitting 23 of 36 and Nevada 24 of 33.
"This was a great win for our program, defeating a quality team in Nevada that won 28 games last year," said third-year UCI head coach Russell Turner. "They are a good team that will get even better as the season goes on. I have a lot of respect for the job Coach (David) Carter does there.
"Daman (Starring) and Flo (Derick Flowers), and all of our perimeter guys, played great defense against two of the best guards in the West (Deonte Burton and Malik Story). Story scored 21, but he had to work hard for his points tonight.
"I thought Daman played a great game on both ends of the floor and all four of our seniors had key roles in this victory, as did our other guys.
"We have a team that is focused on our preparation and plays with intensity. This was an outstanding effort by the entire team tonight in meeting the challenge against a quality team," Turner added.
UCI travels to Pauley Pavilion Tuesday night to take on UCLA at 8:30 in a game that will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks and broadcast live on KUCI/88.9 FM.
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