IRVINE, Calif. --- Senior guard Chris McNealy was named UC Irvine's Most Outstanding Player for 2013-14 as the men's basketball season was celebrated Sunday night at the team's banquet.

An audience of parents, campus and community supporters were in attendance at the UCI Student Center to recognize the achievements of this season's team that led to 23 wins and the Big West Conference regular-season title.

McNealy, the lone senior on the UCI squad this season, was named to the 2014 All-Big West First Team, UCI's first such honoree in six years.  He averaged 11.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and he had 75 assists and 28 steals.

McNealy leaves his name throughout the UCI record book as he ranks eighth in career steals (103), 11th in three-point field goals (131), 13th in assists (277), 18th in points (1,207) and 21st in rebounds (518).  He played in 135 career games, the most in Anteater history.

Junior post John Ryan was named the Most Improved Player.  He averaged 4.3 points and 3.8 rebounds, recorded 31 blocked shots and shot 55.8 percent from the field.

Freshman guard Luke Nelson received the Anteater Award for commitment, integrity and appreciation. 

Nelson, the Big West Conference Freshman of the Year, led the 'Eaters in scoring (11.8), three-point field goals (74) and steals (38).  He also was selected to the All-Big West Second Team.  Nelson was named Big West Player of the Week in February after helping UCI to wins over Long Beach State and UC Davis.  He scored a career-high 28 points in the Feb. 6 victory over Long Beach State.

Dr. Thomas Parham, UCI's Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, recognized Scholar-Athlete distinction for Dominique Dunning, Ege Mala, Reed McConnell, Travis Souza and Ryan.

Coach Russell Turner's Anteaters ended the season ranked No. 3 nationally in field-goal percentage defense (.374), fourth in total blocked shots (224), fifth in blocked shots per game (6.4), 19th in assists per game (15.6), and 38th in scoring defense (63.7) and field-goal percentage (.470).

In games from Feb. 1 through the end of the season, the 'Eaters ranked No. 1 in the nation in field-goal percentage defense at .339.  The next-nearest team was Vermont at .363.

Turner, in his fourth season at UCI, was named 2014 Big West Conference Coach of the Year and also NABC District 9 Coach of the Year.

He guided the 'Eaters to at 23-12 overall record and 13-3 in Big West play to capture the program's first conference regular-season title in 12 years.  The 23 victories tied for second-most in UCI single-season history and the 13 league wins are the most in 11 years for the 'Eaters.

UCI made its second consecutive trip to the postseason, advancing to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) where the 'Eaters fell at eventual tournament runner-up SMU.

Freshman center Mamadou Ndiaye ranked sixth in the nation in total blocks with a school and Big West Conference-record 106, and he was ninth in blocked shots per game (3.12).  He had a school and conference-record 11 blocked shots in a Feb. 6 win over Long Beach State. 

Ndiaye, who averaged 8.0 points and 6.2 rebounds, earned the Big West Conference "Best Defensive Player" award and he also was named to the honorable mention squad.  He shot 70.7 percent from the floor.

Junior forward Will Davis II led UCI in rebounding for the second straight season with an average of 6.4 boards per game and he averaged 11.0 points. 

Davis, who was named All-Big West honorable mention as well as to the 2014 Big West All-Tournament team, ranked third in the conference in field-goal percentage for the season at .567.  He earned Big West Player of the Week honors in November after scoring 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting in an 86-72 win at Washington.

Sophomore guard Alex Young was 58th nationally in assist/turnover ratio at 2.3.  He averaged 8.9 points and led the 'Eaters with 161 assists en route to All-Big West honorable mention recognition.  After just two seasons, Young ranks No. 7 in Anteater history with 305 career assists.

Anteater trends during the season:

16-0 (1.000)….When holding the opposition to less than 60 points
21-1 (.955)……When the opposition shot under 40 percent from the field
17-4 (.810)……When leading at halftime
19-5 (.792)……When outrebounding the opponent
14-4 (.778)……When scoring at least 70 points
10-4 (.714)……When shooting at least 50 percent from the field
12-6 (.667)……When shooting at least 20 free throws

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