IRVINE, Calif. --- Senior guard Chris McNealy scored 22 points to lead UC Irvine past Cal State Fullerton, 72-54, in a Big West Conference game at the Bren Events Center Thursday night.
McNealy was 8 of 12 from the field for the 'Eaters, who improved to 12-7 overall and 3-0 in the Big West. That is the best league start for UCI since opening league play 8-0 in January 2006.
McNealy, the lone senior on the Anteater roster, hit 3 of 4 threes, as he notched the fifth 20-point game of his career.
Junior forward Will Davis II had 11 points and eight rebounds while 7-6 freshman center Mamadou Ndiaye registered 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Sophomore guard Alex Young tied his career high with nine assists and junior post John Ryan h ad six points, six boards and two blocked shots. Redshirt sophomore forward Mike Best and freshman guard Luke Nelson also scored six points each.
Michael Williams led the Titans (6-10, 1-1) with 18 points an Alex Harris added 12.
UCI outscored CSF 22-6 in the final 8 ½ minutes of the first half to break a 15-15 tie and take a 37-21 lead at halftime. UCI shot 56.5 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
The 'Eaters maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half as the closest the Titans would come was 54-42 at the 9:53 mark.
UCI shot 50 percent from the field in the game as the 'Eaters are 8-2 this season when shooting at least 50 percent. UCI hit 20 of 29 free throws in Thursday night's victory, its fourth straight over the Titans.
CSF hit 36 percent from the floor and UCI is now 11-0 this year when the opposition shoots under 40 percent. The 'Eaters won the battle of the boards, 43-26, and is 11-3 when outrebounding their opponents.
Other notable statistics this season have UCI 7-0 when holding the opposition under 60 points, 10-2 when scoring at least 70 points and 9-2 when leading at halftime.
"The strength of our program is that we have guys who are willing to make sacrifices for the team's success," UCI head coach Russell Turner said. "I thought we imposed our will on them with our inside game tonight.
"Chris McNealy had a big game for us and I'm really happy for him when he scores. He's a great player to have as a captain and with the sacrifices he has made for this program. He asserts himself on both ends of the floor as a leader.
"We have the chance to be good, but we need to just focus on getting better and better, and I want our guys to understand that," Turner added.
UCI, which has won seven of its last nine games and is 5-0 in the month of January, returns to action next Thursday night hosting Cal State Northridge in the Bren Center at 7:00.
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