Box Score
GAME #9
UC Irvine (6-2) at Saint Mary's (5-0)
Sunday, December 6, 2015 - 4:00 p.m.
McKeon Pavilion (3,500) - Moraga, Calif.
Series Record: UCI leads 5-4
Last Meeting: SMC won 72-69 (11/23/14 in Moraga)
Radio: KUCI/88.9 FM (Michael O'Sullivan)
Audio / Video / Live Stats
UCI FACES GAELS IN MORAGA: UC Irvine (6-2) faces Saint Mary's (5-0) for the second straight season in Moraga Sunday.
The Gaels claimed a 72-69 win last season as Brad Waldow scored 28 points (21 in the second half).
Luke Nelson led the Anteaters with 19 points and six assists while Mamadou Ndiaye scored 14 points, all in the second half.
UCI has a 5-4 lead in the series that began in 1978.
MID-MAJOR POLL: The Anteaters remained at No. 11 in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. Saint Mary's is fourth and Gonzaga is first.
'EATERS RALLY FOR WIN AT PACIFIC: The Anteaters rallied from 14 points down in the second half to defeat Pacific, 70-67, in Stockton Friday night.
Junior center Mamadou Ndiaye had 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. He scored what turned out to be the game-winning basket on a dunk off a Luke Nelson feed with 1:18 left to put the Anteaters up 68-67. Senior Dominique Dunning scored the game's final basket on a drive with 19 seconds remaining as Pacific missed a late three-point attempt.
Junior guard Jaron Martin added 16 points off the bench, including 10 in the final 6:30. Senior guard Alex Young had 11 points, six rebounds and four assists while senior forward Mike Best also scored 11 points, all in the first half.
LIFE ON THE ROAD: Seven of UCI's eight games in December are on the road. The 'Eaters are at Utah State Saturday and Oregon Dec. 15.
UC IRVINE NOTES
● UC Irvine has won 50 of its last 52 games when holding the opposition to 60 points or less. The Anteaters are 2-0 in those games this season.
● UCI senior guard Alex Young, with nine points against Evansville last Sunday, became the 25th player in Anteater history to reach 1,000. After scoring 11 at Pacific Friday, he enters Sunday's game with 1,012 career points.
● Young ranks second all-time at UCI with 451 assists, 24 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 114 steals. He had a career-high nine rebounds in the Nov. 23 win over Santa Clara.
● Junior guard Luke Nelson is tied for 10th (with Nic Campbell) in Anteater history with 134 threes and he is 16th with 252 assists. Nelson has 796 career points.
● Junior center Mamadou Ndiaye has 149 blocked shots and is shooting 68 percent from the field in his UCI career. His 149 rejections are tied ninth in Big West Conference history.
● Ndiaye pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds in Friday's win at Pacific.
● Senior forward Mike Best, who averaged 3.4 points and 2.2 rebounds last season, is averaging 10.3 points and 5.1 boards this season.
● Russell Turner, in his sixth season as UCI's head coach, needs four wins (96-82) to reach 100 in his tenure with the Anteaters.
● In the NCAA statistics, through Friday's games, UCI ranks 25th nationally in assist/turnover ratio (1.56) and 38th in assists per game (17.0).
● Alex Young ranks ninth in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (5.29) and Mamadou Ndiaye is 25th in total blocks with 18.
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