FULLERTON, Calif. --- Junior guard Chris McNealy scored 21 points off the bench to lead UC Irvine past Cal State Fullerton, 92-65, in a Big West Conference game at Titan Gym Thursday night.
McNealy was 7 of 13 from the field, including 5 of 8 on threes, and added six assists, five rebounds and two steals as the Anteaters improved to 10-9 overall and 4-2 in the Big West. UCI has won three straight games and five of its past seven.
Senior guard Daman Starring scored 16 points and also had six assists and a pair of steals. Senior forward Michael Wilder had 12 points and eight boards while sophomore post Will Davis II recorded 11 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots.
Senior forward Adam Folker added nine points as 10 different UCI players scored in the win. Travis Souza and Conor Clifford scored six points each and Clifford snared four rebounds.
The 27-point win was the largest margin of victory for the Anteaters in the 96-game series with the Titans and the 65 points were a season-low for Fullerton.
Kwame Vaughn led Fullerton (10-7, 3-2) with 15 points and Sammy Yeager added 12.
UCI streaked to a 23-point lead in the first half at 38-15 on a layup by Starring with 3:05 left as the 'Eaters led 42-25 at halftime.
The Titans closed to within 14 at 42-28 on a free throw by Alex Harris with 19:18 remaining in the game before UCI went up by 20 at 50-30 on a Folker layup with 17:11 and the 'Eaters maintained a lead in the 20s the remainder of the contest.
UCI shot 56.5 percent from the field in the win, hitting 12 of 27 threes. The 'Eaters outrebounded the Titans 41-25. Fullerton shot 37.9 percent from the floor and hit 15 of 17 free throws. The Titans, who entered the week ranked first in the Big West in three-point field goals made per game, were 0 for 7 in the first half and 6 of 19 in the game.
"I thought we could play at a high level defensively against them and we did that. Not many teams have done that against Fullerton this season," UCI head coach Russell Turner said.
"Chris (McNealy) has accepted his role coming off the bench and I consider him our sixth starter. I can't say enough about the presence of Will Davis as a shot-blocker and his ability to alter shots.
"We had a bunch of great performances from our guys tonight," Turner added.
UCI plays at UC Riverside in a Big West game Saturday night at 7:00.
NOTES: Chris McNealy has scored 45 points in his last two games against Fullerton. He scored 24 in the Big West Tournament quarterfinal win last March….UCI has shot 59.6 percent from the field in the last two games, hitting 23 of 45 (.511) threes…the 27-point win Thursday night was UCI's largest in the series with Fullerton. The 'Eaters previously defeated the Titans twice by 26 – 72-46 at Fullerton Feb. 2, 2002, and 98-72 at Fullerton Feb. 20, 1967.
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