Box Score

 

IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine rode some blistering second-half shooting in defeating Cal State Northridge, 79-69, in the Anteaters' Homecoming game before 3,907 at the Bren Center Saturday.

UCI shot 75 percent (15 of 20) from the field in the final 20 minutes to move to 3-2 in the Big West Conference and 9-9 overall in the game that was televised on Fox Sports Prime Ticket.

The 'Eaters shot a season-best 63.8 percent for the game and hit 11 of 18 threes for 61.1 percent, also a season high.

Senior post Adam Folker and senior guard Daman Starring scored 14 points apiece in the victory as UCI improved to 6-1 at home this season.

Folker, who had five rebounds, hit 6 of 11 field goals while Starring scored all of his points in the second half when he was 5 of 5 from the floor.

Sophomore post Will Davis II scored 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting and added a game-high eight boards and five blocked shots.

Freshman point guard Alex Young had a career-high nine assists as did senior forward Michael Wilder.  Young scored eight points and Wilder five.

Freshman center Conor Clifford scored eight points, including a crowd-pleasing dunk with 10:29 remaining in the game to put the 'Eaters up 63-49.

Junior guard Chris McNealy had seven points and two assists while sophomore Travis Souza also scored seven points, hitting 2 of 3 threes.

Stephen Maxwell led Northridge (9-8, 0-5) with 20 points, converting 9 of 13 shots.  Josh Greene added 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

The Matadors shot 40.3 percent for the game and had a narrow 31-30 edge on the boards. 

UCI led 38-35 at halftime as Davis tipped in a high in-bounds pass from the baseline by Young just before the horn.

The 'Eaters gradually pulled away in the second half, leading by as many as 20 points at 77-57 on a basket by Folker with 3:39 remaining.

UCI had another strong game of ball distribution with 24 assists on 30 baskets, but the 'Eaters committed a season-high 22 turnovers, leading to 21 Northridge points.

"I was pleased with how we were able to break away a bit in the second half against a tough team, UCI head coach Russell Turner said.

"I thought Will Davis came out and played aggressive with shot-blocking and rebounding. We had a lot of guys with good performances tonight.  We were able to get really good shots and some easy shots around the basket with our ball movement.

"It was a great atmosphere in here and I want to thank everyone for coming out and supporting us, especially as we prepare to go on the road for our next three games. I hope we can continue to build energy around our program," Turner added.

UCI begins a stretch of three straight road games Thursday night at 8:00 at Cal State Fullerton before traveling to UC Riverside next Saturday for a Big West game at 7:00 p.m.

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