ANAHEIM, Calif. --- Chris McNealy scored a career-high 24 points while Adam Folker had 10 points and 12 rebounds as seventh-seeded UC Irvine defeated No. 2 seed Cal State Fullerton, 65-59, in a Big West Tournament quarterfinal game at the Honda Center Thursday.

With the win, UCI takes on top-seeded Long Beach State at 6:30 Friday night in a semifinal game.

McNealy was 7 of 14 from the field and 6-8 from the foul line as the 'Eaters improved to 12-19 overall.  He was 4 of 7 from three-point range.

Folker was 5 of 8 from the floor in recording his third double-double of the season.

Derick Flowers and Michael Wilder added 11 points and three assists apiece for UCI, which led 29-21 at halftime.

Orane Chin led Fullerton (21-9) with 20 points while Omondi Amoke had 10 points and a tournament-record 21 rebounds.

The 'Eaters hit their first four threes of the game in building an 18-6 lead less than six minutes into the contest.

UCI led wire-to-wire as the closest the Titans came in the second half was 53-51 on a three by Chin with 5:50 remaining.

McNealy answered for UCI with a trey at the 4:32 mark and he made 5 of 6 free throws in the final 34 seconds to help secure the win.

Fullerton had won the regular-season meetings 92-84 and 100-94, but UCI rose to the occasion defensively Thursday, holding the Titans to 37 percent from the field.

The 'Eaters hit 10 of 22 threes while Fullerton was 5 of 20.  UCI shot 47 percent from the field.  UCI had 16 turnovers and Fullerton committed 17.

"I'm proud of the team for the defense we played," UCI head coach Russell Turner said.  "Obviously, we focused on our defensive performance because of what Fullerton had done to us in the previous two games.  I am proud of the team and I think my guys did a fine job.

"We say we want to be at our best in March.  All we want to do is get rest and get ready for tomorrow," said Turner.

"It's definitely a big win for us," junior center Adam Folker said.  "I haven't made it past the first round since I've been here and as a team, it's huge for us.  We are going to build off this," he added.

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