GAME #25

Hawai'i (18-9, 6-5) at UC Irvine (14-10, 7-3)
Thursday, February 19, 2015 – 7:30 p.m.
Bren Events Center (5,000) – Irvine, California

Series Record:  UCI leads 7-5
Last Meeting:  UCI won 78-72 (1/24/15 in Honolulu)

Radio:  KUCI/88.9 FM (Michael O'Sullivan & Steve Henkle)

TV:  FOX Sports Prime Ticket (Mark Rogondino, Corey Maggette, Rahshaun Haylock)


Audio / Video / Live Stats / Tickets

UCI HOSTS HAWAI'I, CSUN:  UC Irvine hosts Hawai'i Thursday night at 7:30 (Prime Ticket) and CSUN Saturday evening at 7:00 in Big West Conference games.

Coach Russell Turner's Anteaters, 14-10 overall and 7-3 in conference play, entered the week in second place in the Big West, two games behind UC Davis.  Hawai'i is in fifth place at 6-5 and CSUN is eighth at 2-10.

WHITE-OUT THURSDAY:  Thursday's game versus Hawai'i is "White-Out" night as fans are encouraged to wear white.  The first 3,000 fans will receive a white rally towel.

UCI-HAWAI'I SERIES:  UCI leads the series, 7-5, and has won the last two meetings, including 78-72 in Honolulu Jan. 24.

Will Davis II led the Anteaters with 17 points, hitting 8 of 12 shots, and he added eight rebounds.  Alex Young scored 15 points, including a three with 1:22 remaining that proved to be the game-winning points.  Isaac Fleming scored 14 points to lead five Hawai'i players in double figures.

DEFEND THE BREN:  UC Irvine has won 33 of its last 41 games (.805) in the Bren Events Center and is 146-55 (.726) dating back to February 2000.

The Bren Center opened Jan. 8, 1987, when Scott Brooks (current OKC Thunder head coach) scored 43 points in a 118-96 win over Utah State.

'EATERS FALL AT RIVERSIDE:  UCI fell at UC Riverside, 70-63, last Saturday in the team's lone game of the week.   Jaron Martin was the only Anteater player in double figures with 15 points.

ANTEATER NOTES

● Dating back to Dec. 22, 2011, UC Irvine is 43-0 when holding the opposition to 60 points or less, including 10-0 this season.

● As of Wednesday, UCI ranks 13^th in the nation in three-point field-goal percentage at .404, 27^th in blocked shots per game (5.1) and 37^th in total blocked shots (122) and 39^th in field-goal percentage (.469).

● Senior forward Will Davis II, with three blocked shots at UC Riverside last Saturday, became the third player in Big West history to reach 200 career blocks and he is UCI's career leader with 202. He leads the Big West in field-goal percentage at .533 for all games.  Davis is just the sixth player in the 50-year history of UCI basketball to record 1,000 points and 700 rebounds.  He ranks sixth in Anteater history with 754 rebounds and is 15^th with 1,231 points.  He leads the team with a 12.0 scoring average and also in rebounding at 5.9 boards per game.

● Sophomore guard Luke Nelson, who is averaging 10.0 points and 3.7 assists, had six assists and a season-high three steals at Riverside last Saturday.  He tied his career high with eight assists in the Jan. 29 win over Cal Poly.  Nelson scored a season-high 19 points against Saint Mary's and UT Arlington.  He has been wearing a protective mask due to a facial injury sustained in practice in late December.  Nelson was Big West Conference Freshman of the Year last season.

● Senior guard Travis Souza leads the 'Eaters with 49 threes on the season and has 124 for his career to rank 12^th in UCI history.  Souza ranks fourth in the Big West in three-point field goal percentage at .471 on the season and has hit 48.8 percent in league games.   He scored a career-high 17 points in the Jan. 29 win over Cal Poly.

● Junior guard Aaron Wright is second on the team with 22 steals, recording a career-high four in the Dec. 29 loss at Oregon.  He tied his season high with five assists in the Feb. 7 win at LBSU and scored a season-high 11 points in the Jan. 3 loss at New Mexico State.

● Sophomore guard Jaron Martin ranks second in the Big West in three-point field goal percentage at .493 after hitting 3 of 4 at Riverside last Saturday when he scored 15 points.  Martin scored a career-high 16 points in the Jan. 10 win over Riverside and tied his career high with four threes in that game.   Martin was named to the South Point Holiday Hoops All-Classic team in Las Vegas Dec. 21-22.

● Junior guard Dominique Dunning is 14 of 24 from the field in the past seven contests.  He recorded his first double-double with 11 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in the Dec. 31 win over Hampden-Sydney.

● Junior forward Mike Best had eight points and five boards in Saturday's loss at Riverside.  He scored a season-high 10 points, hitting 5 of 6 from the field, in the Dec. 31 win over Hampden-Sydney.

● Sophomore post Ioannis Dimakopoulos scored nine points in the Jan. 31 win over UCSB and a season-high 11 points in the Dec. 6 win over Sacramento State.

● Senior post John Ryan, who has started 19 games this season, sustained an injury to his right foot at Riverside last Saturday.  He is shooting 56.6 percent from the field and leads the team with 33 blocked shots.  He tied his career high with 10 rebounds in the Feb. 7 win at LBSU.

● Junior guard Alex Young has missed the last two games due to a left-foot injury sustained in the UC Davis game Feb. 5.  He is fourth in UCI history with 384 career assists.  His three with 1:22 left at Hawai'i Jan. 24 proved to be the game-winning points as his basket gave UCI a 74-70 lead in the 78-72 victory.

● 7-6 sophomore center Mamadou Ndiaye has not played in the last eight games (left foot) and has missed a total of 17 for the season.  Ndiaye scored a career-high 21 points in the Nov. 29 win at Loyola Marymount, hitting 10 of 11 from the field.

ON THIS DATE

● On this date 32 years ago, Feb. 19, 1983, UC Irvine defeated UC Santa Barbara, 95-74, at Crawford Hall.

● Ben McDonald scored 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead UCI.  George Turner added 18 points while Michael Beans registered 13 assists.

● UCI shot 59.7 percent from the field in the victory.

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