IRVINE, Calif. --- Senior forward Will Davis II recorded season highs of 23 points and 14 rebounds in leading UC Irvine past Hawai'i, 75-60, in a Big West Conference game at the Bren Events Center Thursday night.
It was the third double-double of the season for Davis and the 12th in his career. He was 9 of 15 from the field and 5 of 6 from the foul line, pulling down five offensive boards and adding three blocked shots to raise his school-record career total to 205.
Davis had 13 points and 12 boards in the second half as the 'Eaters broke away from a 29-29 halftime tie, outscoring the Rainbow Warriors, 46-31, in the final 20 minutes. UCI shot 54.8 percent in the second half and limited Hawai'i to 27.3 percent.
Senior guard Travis Souza added 15 points, hitting 5 of 7 threes, and had five rebounds and four assists. He scored 12 of his points in the second half.
Sophomore guard Luke Nelson registered 13 points and tied his career high with eight assists as UCI improved to 15-10 overall and 8-3 in the conference.
Sophomore guard Jaron Martin added nine points and a career-high five assists while sophomore post Ioannis Dimakopoulos had eight points, three rebounds and a career-high three blocked shots.
Junior Dominique Dunning had eight rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench.
Stefan Jankovic led the Rainbow Warriors (18-10, 6-6) with 18 points and 15 rebounds while Negus Webster-Chan scored 16 points.
Hawai'i led for most of the first half and was up 29-22 before the 'Eaters scored seven unanswered points in the final 2:16 to pull even at the half after Souza drilled a three with 1:01 left.
UCI went on a 10-2 run over a span of just over three minutes midway through the second half to take a nine-point lead at 55-46 on two free throws by Davis with 9:57 remaining.
After a layup from Aaron Valdes with 9:38 left pulled Hawai'i within 55-48, the Anteaters went on a 13-3 run, capped by a basket from Davis with 4:15 left, to extend the lead to 17 at 68-51.
UCI hit 10 of 18 from three-point range and shot 46.7 percent overall from the field. The 'Bows shot 30.8 percent in the game and each team collected 42 rebounds.
The 'Eaters tied their season low with seven turnovers.
"It was a good win against a team that has caused problems for many teams in handling the ball," UCI head coach Russell Turner said. "I was pleased with how we played and took care of the ball.
"I thought we came out in the second half and showed domination. I wasn't pleased with our rebounding in the first half, but that might be due to the fact we were so focused on taking care of the ball.
"Will and Ioannis made some key plays inside and I thought we played well as a team," Turner added.
UCI remains in second place in the Big West, two games behind league-leading UC Davis.
The 'Eaters host CSUN Saturday night at 7:00 in a Big West contest at the Bren Events Center.
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