GAME #11
UC Irvine (5-5) at Eastern Washington (5-3)
Sunday, December 15, 2013 – 2:05 p.m.
Reese Court (5,000) – Cheney, Wash.
Series Record: UCI leads 5-3
Last Meeting: UCI won 81-58 (11/24/13 in Irvine)
Radio: KUCI/88.9 FM (Mark Roberts, 20th Season)
Audio / Video / Live Stats
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BACK ON THE ROAD
● UC Irvine, coming off finals week, embarks on a string of four straight road games to close out 2013 beginning Sunday afternoon at Eastern Washington. The Anteaters are at Oregon Tuesday night. The Ducks are 11th in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 15 in the A.P. rankings.
● Five of UCI's eight games in January will be at home.
● UCI is looking to snap a two-game losing streak after falling at California, 73-56, Dec. 2 and at home to Pepperdine, 75-69, last Saturday night.
● UCI's last victory was 79-53 at Sacramento State Nov. 30. Senior Chris McNealy led UCI with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting and he added six rebounds. Freshman Luke Nelson had 14 points while sophomore guard Alex Young scored 12 points (5-of-7 shooting) and had a game-high six assists. UCI trailed 32-22 with 3:24 left in the first half of that game before outscoring the Hornets, 57-21, the rest of the way.
● The Anteaters and Eastern Washington are meeting for the second time in three weeks Sunday. UCI topped the Eagles, 81-58, in the 2K Sports Classic Irvine Subregional Nov. 24. UCI hit 11 of 19 threes in that win with Nelson going 5 of 7 en route to a team-high 19 points.
● That Nov. 24 win over EWU marked UCI head coach Russell Turner's 50th victory at UCI. He recently received a contract extension through the 2017-18 season.
● Four UCI players are averaging in double figures, led by Chris McNealy at 12.3 points per game. He has scored 944 points in his career as he closes in on becoming the 23rd player in Anteater history to score 1,000 points.
UC IRVINE NOTES
● Entering the week, UCI ranked seventh in the nation in assists per game at 18.6, 21st in assist/turnover ratio (1.54) and 23rd in blocked shots per game (6.3).
● 7-6 freshman Mamadou Ndiaye, the nation's tallest player, ranked 10th nationally when the week began with 32 total blocks. He set a UCI and Big West record with 10 blocked shots in the Nov. 24 win over Eastern Washington. He had nine blocked shots, along with 18 points and eight rebounds, in the Nov. 14 victory at Washington.
● UCI leads the Big West Conference with averages of 6.3 blocks and 18.6 assists per game.
● Sophomore guard Alex Young is second in the Big West in assists at 4.6 per game.
● Junior forward Will Davis II is fourth in the Big West in field-goal percentage (.588) and fifth in rebounding (7.6).
● Junior Travis Souza is fourth in the league in three-point field goal percentage at .469.
● Freshman guard Luke Nelson has hit 13 of 25 threes in the last four games.
● Will Davis II was named MVP of the 2K Sports Classic Irvine Subregional (Nov. 22-24) after averaging 11.3 points and 8.0 rebounds in three games. Alex Young was selected to the all-subregional team.
● The Anteaters are 4-0 this season when holding the opposition to a field-goal percentage of under 40 percent.
● UCI has shot at least 50 percent from the field in six games this season. The Anteaters shot a season-high 59.6 percent in the 86-72 win at Washington Nov. 14.
● UCI's margin of victory in its five wins this season is 24 points.
● UCI had a season-low six turnovers in the 81-58 win over Eastern Washington Nov. 24.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON
● Third-year head coach Jim Hayford's Eagles are 5-3 entering Sunday's game, including 3-0 at home.
● Sophomore guard Tyler Harvey leads EWU in scoring at 20.3 points per game. Sophomore forward Venky Jois is averaging 14.5 points and 7.6 rebounds. Both players were selected to the All-2K Sports Classic Irvine Subregional team last month.
● Sunday's game is a return contest for EWU's trip to the Bren Center for the BracketBusters in 2012.
UCI-EASTERN WASHINGTON SERIES (UCI leads 5-3)
12/28/86: UCI 97, EWU 68 (Anteater Classic at Long Beach Arena)
12/13/88: UCI 112, EWU 101 (at Irvine)
12/9/95: UCI 86, EWU 66 (at Irvine)
12/4/96: EWU 80, UCI 53 (at Cheney)
11/19/08: EWU 74, UCI 69 (at Irvine)
11/30/08: EWU 78, UCI 64 (at Cheney)
2/18/12: UCI 78, EWU 73 (at Irvine; BracketBusters)
11/24/13: UCI 81, EWU 58 (2K Sports Classic Irvine Subregional)
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