UC IRVINE GAME #23
UC Irvine (9-13, 5-4) vs. Pacific (8-13, 4-5)
Saturday, February 4, 2012 – 7:00 p.m.
Bren Events Center (5,000) – Irvine, Calif.
Series Record: Pacific leads 39-36
Last Meeting: UCI won 73-69 (1/5/12 in Stockton)
Radio: KUCI/88.9 FM (Mark Roberts, 18th Season, & Steve Henkle)
Listen Live on KUCI/88.9 FM / Watch at BigWest.TV
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UC IRVINE HOSTS TIGERS SATURDAY NIGHT: UC Irvine hosts Pacific Saturday evening in Big West Conference action to close the 'Eaters' five-game homestand.
Coach Russell Turner's UCI squad carries its first three-game winning streak of the season into the Pacific game following a 68-61 victory over UC Davis Thursday night.
Sophomore guard Chris McNealy led four Anteater players in double figures with 16 points (13 in the second half). He added six rebounds and four assists. Junior guard Daman Starring had 13 points, six rebounds, six assists and a career-high four steals, while junior forward Michael Wilder scored 12 points and junior center Adam Folker had 11 points and eight rebounds (four offensive).
UCI defeated Pacific, 73-69, Jan. 5 as the 'Eaters won in Stockton for the first time in five years. Wilder had 18 points and 10 rebounds while Folker recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 12 boards. Folker score seven straight UCI points late in the game, including the game-winning layup with 1:05 left.
Freshman Mike Best scored 14 points in the victory.
WILDER 9TH IN CAREER THREES: Junior forward Michael Wilder ranks ninth in career threes at UCI with 128, four treys behind No. 8 Rod Palmer (132).
Michael Hunter (2007-10) is UCI's career leader with 236.
'EATERS DRAW EWU IN BRACKETBUSTERS: UCI will host Eastern Washington in a Sears BracketBusters game Feb. 18 at 7:00 p.m. in the Bren Events Center as the pairings were announced Monday.
This will be the eighth BracketBusters appearance for the 'Eaters, who are 4-3 in previous matchups. UCI lost at Nevada, 74-63, last season.
The 10th annual Sears BracketBusters series has its largest field this year with 142 teams from 16 conferences.
EWU is currently 11-12 overall and 5-5 in the Big Sky Conference. The series between UCI and EWU is tied at 3-3 with the 'Eaters winning the first three meetings and the Eagles the last three, including 78-64 in Cheney, Wash., Nov. 30, 2008.
UC IRVINE PLAYER NOTES
■ Junior guard DAMAN STARRING leads UCI in scoring at 11.6 points per game. He had a career-high four steals, tied his career high with six assists, and added 13 points and six rebounds in Thursday night's 68-61 win over UC Davis.
He leads the 'Eaters with 15 games in twin-digit scoring this season. Starring scored a UCI career-high 23 points in the 92-84 loss to Cal State Fullerton Jan. 21. Starring was 6 of 9 from three-point range in that game and he tied his career high with six assists.
He scored his original UCI career-high of 21 points against Alaska-Anchorage and Weber State in November and averaged 18.7 points in three games at the Great Alaska Shootout in late November. Starring scored 27 points as a freshman at Centenary (La.) College in the 2009-10 season.
Starring ranks seventh in the Big West Conference in steals for all games (1.27 per game), eighth in three-point field-goal percentage (.396) and 12th in scoring (11.6).
In league games only, he ranks fourth in steals (1.56) and sixth in assists (3.44).
■ Junior forward MICHAEL WILDER is averaging 11.5 points per game, scoring a season-high 20 in the Jan. 7 win at UC Davis for the third 20-point game of his career. He has scored in double figures 13 times this season.
Wilder, who ranks ninth all-time at UCI with 128 threes, tied his career high with six threes in the win at UC Davis and hit five each against LSU and Central Michigan.
For all games, he ranks second in the Big West in three-point field goals made at 2.45 per game, which ranks 70th in the nation.
In league games only, he ranks third in three-point field goals made per game at 2.56 and sixth in free-throw percentage (.800).
■ Junior point guard DERICK FLOWERS scored 17 points in last Saturday's Homecoming win over UC Riverside for his third-highest output as an Anteater. Flowers, who has started the last 13 games, scored 18 points in the Jan. 21 loss to Fullerton and snared a career-high five rebounds.
Flowers scored a career-high 21 points in the 71-52 win at Cal State Northridge Dec. 29 and was named Big West Player of the Week following that performance.
Flowers is second in the Big West in assists for league games only at 4.00 per contest. He ranks fourth in free-throw percentage (.818) and seventh in three-point field-goal percentage (.455).
■ Junior center ADAM FOLKER, who has averaged 10.7 rebounds in the last three games, had 11 points and eight rebounds in Thursday night's win over UC Davis. He pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds (seven offensive) in the Jan. 24 win over Seattle University and added nine boards (seven offensive) in Saturday's victory over UC Riverside.
He recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds in the Jan. 5 win at Pacific. He scored seven straight UCI points from the 4:34 mark to 1:05 when he converted the game-winning basket in the win at Pacific.
In conference games only, he ranks fifth in the Big West in rebounding at 6.9 per contest and also fifth in offensive rebounds (2.67 per game).
For all games, he ranks sixth in offensive rebounds at 2.59 per contest and in rebounding (6.1).
■ Sophomore guard CHRIS McNEALY scored 16 points in Thursday's win over UC Davis, tying his second-highest output at UCI. He scored a career-high 17 points in the Jan. 7 win at UC Davis, hitting a career-best 5 of 6 threes.
McNealy ranks seventh in the Big West in assists at 3.14 per game for all contests and he is eighth in league games only at 3.22. He recorded a career-high seven assists in the Dec. 20 loss at UCLA and had six in the Dec. 29 win at Cal State Northridge.
He recorded his first career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds in the 78-67 loss to Southern Miss at the Great Alaska Shootout Nov. 24.
■ Freshman post WILL DAVIS II, who has 12 blocked shots in the last three games, recorded his second double-double of the season with a career-high 21 points along with 10 boards in the Jan. 24 victory over Seattle University. He also had a career-best and school-record seven blocked shots, breaking the previous UCI mark of six set by Jeff Von Lutzow vs. Bradley (12/1/90).
In Big West games only, he ranks third in blocked shots at 1.89 per game.
For all games, Davis is third in the Big West in blocked shots at 1.50 per game, ninth in offensive rebounds at 2.14 per contest and 11th in rebounding with a 5.6 average.
■ Freshman center MIKE BEST scored 14 points in 17 reserve minutes at Pacific Jan. 5, hitting 6 of 9 shots. He hit both of his three-point attempts and added two blocked shots.
Best scored a career-high 17 points, hitting 8 of 10 shots, in 18 reserve minutes versus Hope International Dec. 22.
He had a season-high four blocked shots in the Nov. 19 loss to Weber State and recorded three in the Jan. 12 loss to Cal Poly. Best ranks 10th in the Big West at 0.71 blocked shots per game.
■ Freshman forward TRAVIS SOUZA hit two threes for six points in Thursday's win over UC Davis for his second-best output as an Anteater. He recorded a career-high 15 points and three rebounds in 19 reserve minutes during the Jan. 14 loss at UCSB, hitting 5 of 7 threes.
He had a career-high four rebounds and three assists in the Jan. 24 win over Seattle University.
■ Freshman guard COLLIN WOODS tied his career high with nine points in the Jan. 5 win at Pacific, hitting 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.
Woods first scored nine points against Central Michigan at the Great Alaska Shootout Nov. 25.
■ Freshman forward MARCUS BRADLEY pulled down a career-high four rebounds in the Dec. 22 win over Hope International.
He scored a season-high six points in the 77-56 loss at Cal Nov. 11 to open the season.
■ Freshman guard AARON WRIGHT is sidelined with a right-knee injury sustained midway through the second half of the Dec. 13 loss at Wyoming. He had started five straight games prior to his injury.
IN THE BIG WEST STATS: UCI ranks first in the Big West in assists at 15.00 per game, second in rebounding (38.2), and third in field-goal percentage defense (.407), three-point field goals made (7.82) and blocks (4.00).
In conference games only, UCI ranks first in three-point field goals made per game (8.89) and second in rebounding (35.8) and assists at 15.44 per game.
IN THE NCAA STATS: Of 338 NCAA Division I teams through Thursday's games, UCI ranks 40th in assists at 15.0 per game and 46th in three-point field goals per game (7.8).
ABOUT PACIFIC: Twenty-fourth year head coach Bob Thomason's Tigers have won three of their last four games, including 60-52 at UC Riverside Thursday. Pacific is 8-13 overall and 4-5 in the Big West.
Junior guard Lorenzo McCloud leads the Tigers in scoring (11.1) and assists (3.3). Sophomore forward Ross Rivera is averaging 10.0 points while junior forward Travis Fulton tops the team in rebounding at 6.1.
UCI has won the last two meetings in the series, 73-69, in Stockton earlier this season and 97-86 in double overtime at the Bren Center last Feb. 26 that clinched a berth in the Big West Tournament for the 'Eaters.
NEXT UP FOR UCI: The 'Eaters travel to Cal State Fullerton Thursday and Cal Poly next Saturday.
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