Box Score

 

FULLERTON, Calif. --- Senior forward Mike Best scored 18 points to help lead UC Irvine past Boston College, 80-67, in the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy at Titan Gym in Fullerton Friday.

Best tied his career high with nine rebounds as UCI recorded the program's first win over an Atlantic Coast Conference school.

Junior center Mamadou Ndiaye hit 7 of 8 shots and added 16 points and five boards.  Junior guard Jaron Martin scored 11 points and senior guard Alex Young recorded 10 points and four assists.

Junior guard Luke Nelson registered a career-high 10 assists while junior post Ioannis Dimakopoulos scored eight points in 17 minutes for the 'Eaters (5-1).

Jerome Robinson led Boston College (3-2) with 15 points while Dennis Clifford and Eli Carter added 14 apiece.

The 'Eaters dominated in the paint, outscoring Boston College, 40-16, and UCI committed a season-low six turnovers.

UCI shot 51.7 percent from the field, including 60 percent in the first half when the 'Eaters took a 43-31 halftime lead. UCI built its largest lead of the game at 35-15 with 5:29 left in the opening half after a basket by Dimakopoulos.

The Eagles shot 45.3 percent from the floor and UCI outrebounded Boston College, 36-26.

A jumper by Robinson with 7:03 remaining pulled the Eagles with 10 at 65-55, but Martin hit two threes from the right corner in a span of 33 seconds to preserve a 13-point lead for the 'Eaters.

"I'm real proud of our team's performance," Anteater head coach Russell Turner said.  "We bounced back from a performance that disappointed us yesterday and defeated a team that's really talented.  That's a good team, a well-coached team that I really respect.  To win that game wire-to-wire the way we did was the type of performance I hope we'll get more of.  It was really outstanding on the defensive end for us."

"We needed to establish inside today, and we didn't do that yesterday.  Some of that is on me.  I think that's our identity, and I allowed Boise State to dictate the game yesterday, which is probably why they beat us.  I think you have to be critical as a coach of players, and sometimes critical as a coach of yourself," Turner added.  "The players seemed to respond to that message, especially the guy sitting next to me (Mike Best)."

"I think I was more energetic today," Best said.  "I thought we should have won the last game, and that got to me.  I was more driven today and we talked about rebounding more, and I took that to heart."

UCI plays in the fifth-place game Sunday at 11:30 a.m. at the Honda Center, facing the winner of Friday's later game between Evansville and Santa Clara.

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