Box Score
EL PASO, Texas --- UC Irvine opened the second half with a 28-13 run and the Anteaters went on to defeat Sam Houston State, 63-53, in the opening game of the 54th annual WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational in El Paso, Texas, Monday night.
Junior guard Luke Nelson scored 16 points and senior forward Mike Best 14 as the Anteaters improved to 9-4 overall.
The victory marked Russell Turner's 99th win as UCI's head coach.
The Anteaters have won 52 of their last 54 games when holding the opponents to 60 points or less, including 4-0 this season.
UCI shot just 29.2 percent (7 of 24) in the first half, but trailed just 30-25 at the break, hitting 10 of 12 free throws in the opening 20 minutes when Nelson and Best scored six points apiece.
The 'Eaters hit five of their first six shots to begin the second half in launching the 28-13 spree that gave UCI a 53-43 lead after a three by junior guard Jaron Martin with 7:13 remaining.
The Bearkats (5-6) cut the deficit to six at 55-49 on a layup by Jamal Williams with 4:06 left, but consecutive baskets by Martin and Best lifted UCI's lead back to 10 at 59-49 with 1:33 remaining and the 'Eaters secured that lead for the win.
Martin scored nine points for UCI while senior guard Alex Young added six points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Young now has 468 career assists, seven away from tying Raimonds Miglinieks for the top spot in UCI history.
Senior guard Aaron Wright snared a team-high six rebounds Monday and added three assists. Junior center Mamadou Ndiaye had five points and five boards, and junior post Ioannis Dimakopoulos also had five rebounds along with four points. Ndiaye and Dimakopoulos recorded two blocked shots each.
Aurimas Majauskas led Sam Houston State with 16 points and Torry Butler added 10, scoring all of his in the first half.
UCI shot 43 percent from the field to the Bearkats' 35 percent as the 'Eaters improved to 7-0 this season when the opposition shoots under 40 percent.
Sam Houston State had a 38-34 edge on the boards. UCI hit 14 of 17 free throws in the game and the Bearkats 11 of 20.
The 'Eaters face Norfolk State in the championship game Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. (MT) at the Don Haskins Center.
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