Box Score
GAME #13
UC Irvine (8-4) vs. Sam Houston State (5-5)
Monday, December 21, 2015 - 4:00 p.m. (PT)
Don Haskins Center (12,000) - El Paso, Texas
WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational
Series Record: Sam Houston State leads 2-1
Last Meeting: SHSU won 65-63, OT (11/21/12 in Huntsville)
Radio: KUCI/88.9 FM (Michael O'Sullivan)
Tournament Central
Audio / Live Stats
ANTEATERS OPEN WITH BEARKATS: UC Irvine (8-4) opens against Sam Houston State (5-5) Monday in the 54th Annual WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational in El Paso.
This will be the fourth meeting between the programs. UCI won 70-62 in overtime at Irvine Dec. 16, 2006, Sam Houston State defeated the Anteaters, 61-54 in Huntsville Dec. 20, 2007, and the Bearkats topped the 'Eaters, 65-63 in overtime Nov. 21, 2012, in the Progressive Legends Huntsville Subregional.
UTEP and Norfolk State play the second game Monday with the third place and championship games Tuesday.
UCI VS. UTEP: The Anteaters and Miners have never met in men's basketball.
UCI VS. NORFOLK STATE: UCI leads the series, 1-0, defeating the Spartans, 64-51, in the Basketball Travelers Tip-Off Tournament in Springfield, Mo., Dec. 22, 2008.
MONTH OF TRAVEL ISN'T DONE: Friday night's win over Chapman was UCI's only home game this month.
The Anteaters travel to No. 2 Kansas Dec. 29, capping seven out of eight games on the road in December.
UCI plays five of eight games at home in January, beginning with New Mexico State Jan. 2.
UC IRVINE NOTES
● UC Irvine started what is believed to be the tallest lineup in college basketball history and the Anteaters held off Chapman, 65-51, in non-conference action at the Bren Events Center Friday night.
● Coach Russell Turner sent out 7-6 Mamadou Ndiaye, 7-2 Ioannis Dimakopoulos, 6-10 Mike Best, 6-10 Jonathan Galloway and 6-8 Shawn Ray to start the game. That group totaled 420 inches (35 feet or the equivalent of five 7-footers), 14 inches taller than any other college basketball starting five, according to STATS LLC in records kept since 1996-97.
● Ndiaye scored 13 points and added seven rebounds, four blocked shots and a career-high three assists. That ended his streak of four consecutive double-doubles.
● Senior guard Aaron Wright had 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting off the bench while 7-2 junior post Ioannis Dimakopoulos and junior guard Jaron Martin scored nine points apiece. Dimakopoulos and redshirt freshman forward Jonathan Galloway added five rebounds each.
● Turner, in his sixth season as UCI's head coach, needs two wins (98-84) to reach 100 in his tenure with the Anteaters.
● UCI has won 51 of its last 53 games when holding the opposition to 60 points or less. The Anteaters are 3-0 in those games this season.
● UC Irvine is 6-0 this season when scoring at least 70 points and when the opposition shoots under 40 percent from the field.
● Mamadou Ndiaye was named Big West Conference Player of the Week last Monday after recording 17 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots in the Dec. 12 win at Utah State. The 14 boards tied his career high.
● The Anteaters are No. 18 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. Gonzaga is first and UALR second.
● UCI senior guard Alex Young is the 25th player in Anteater history to reach 1,000 career points as he currently has 1,041, including a season-high 20 at Utah State Dec. 12.
● Young ranks second all-time at UCI with 464 assists, just 11 behind Raimonds Miglinieks, who registered 475 assists in his Anteater career.
● Young, in his third year as a team captain, is seventh in UCI history with 116 steals.
● Junior guard Luke Nelson is eighth in Anteater history with 143 threes and he is 15th with 266 assists. Nelson has scored 843 career points.
● Junior center Mamadou Ndiaye has 164 blocked shots and is shooting 68 percent from the field in his UCI career. His 164 rejections are tied for fifth in Big West Conference history.
● Ndiaye pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds in wins at Utah State (12/12) and Pacific (12/4).
● In the NCAA statistics, through Friday's games, Mamadou Ndiaye is fourth in total blocks with 33 and 15th in blocked shots per game (2.75). Alex Young ranks 19th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (3.85).
● UCI ranks 43rd nationally in blocked shots per game (5.3).
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