GAME #22

UC Davis (16-4, 6-1) at UC Irvine (13-8, 6-1)
Thursday, February 5, 2015 – 7:00 p.m.
Bren Events Center (5,000) – Irvine, California

Series Record:  UCI leads 20-12
Last Meeting:  UCI won 74-46 (3/8/14 in Irvine)

Radio:  KUCI/88.9 FM (Michael O'Sullivan & Steve Henkle)
TV:  ESPN3 (Scott Marsh, Richie Schueler, Sanaz Tavassol)

Audio / Video / Live Stats / Tickets


BIG WEEK FOR 'EATERS:  UC Irvine (13-8, 6-1), tied for first place in the Big West Conference, faces the other two leaders this week.

Coach Russell Turner's Anteaters host UC Davis Thursday night and travel to Long Beach State Saturday for a 4:00 p.m. game.   Both contests will be carried by ESPN3.

UCI-UC DAVIS SERIES:  Thursday marks the 33^rd meeting in the series between UCI and UC Davis and the Anteaters hold a 20-12 series lead.  The 'Eaters have won the last seven meetings, including 61-59 in Davis (2/8/14) and 74-46 in Irvine (3/8/14) last season.

WIN STREAK AT 6:  The Anteaters have won their last six games, including 77-55 over UC Santa Barbara in the Homecoming game last Saturday night.

Alex Young and Luke Nelson led the balanced UCI offense with 11 points each.

The 'Eaters defeated Cal Poly, 67-57, last Thursday on the strength of a career-high 17 points from Travis Souza.

The six-game streak is UCI's longest since winning eight straight games in January 2006.

DEFEND THE BREN:  UC Irvine has won 33 of its last 40 games (.825) in the Bren Events Center and is 146-54 (.730) dating back to February 2000.

ANTEATER NOTES

● Dating back to Dec. 22, 2011, UC Irvine is 42-0 when holding the opposition to 60 points or less.

● As of Wednesday, UCI ranks fifth in the nation in three-point field-goal percentage at .417, 21^st in field-goal percentage (.484) and 33^rd in blocked shots per game (5.0).

● In the last three games, UCI is 30 of 55 (.545) from three-point range.

● Senior forward Will Davis II is just the sixth player in the 50-year history of UCI basketball to record 1,000 points and 700 rebounds.  Davis ranks sixth in Anteater history with 740 rebounds and he is 19^th with 1,182 points.  He is UCI's career leader in blocked shots with 198.  Davis is one of four UCI players averaging in double figures, leading the team with an 11.3 scoring average and also in rebounding at 6.1 boards per game.  Davis ranks second in the Big West in field-goal percentage at .520.

● Junior guard Alex Young is fourth in UCI history with 382 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.  Young was named Most Outstanding Player of the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas Dec. 21-22.  He hit the game-winning jumper with 1.7 seconds left in the 72-70 championship win over Green Bay Dec. 22.  Young also was named Big West Player of the Week after that performance.  He had a career-high six steals in the Dec. 13 loss to UT Arlington, including five in the first 5:16 of the game.

● Young ranks second on the team in scoring average at 11.1 points per game.  He leads UCI with 32 steals this season and is 14^th in UCI history with 96 for his career.  Young has scored 883 career points.

● Sophomore guard Luke Nelson, who is averaging 10.5 points, tied his career high with eight assists in last Thursday's win over Cal Poly and has 20 in the past four games.  Nelson was Big West Conference Freshman of the Year last season.

● Senior guard Travis Souza leads the 'Eaters with 47 threes on the season and has hit 16 of 27 in the past six games.  He has 122 career threes to rank 12^th in UCI history.  Souza ranks third in the Big West in three-point field goal percentage at .500 on the season and has hit 58.1 percent in league games.   He scored a career-high 17 points in the Jan. 22 win at CSUN.

● Senior post John Ryan had a career-high 10 rebounds in the Jan. 24 win at Hawai'i.  He is shooting 56.2 percent from the field for the season.

● Sophomore guard Jaron Martin has hit 12 of 18 threes in the last six games and he ranks second in the Big West in three-point field goal percentage at .509.  Martin scored a career-high 16 points in the Jan. 10 win over UC Riverside and tied his career high with four threes in that game.   Martin, who tied his career high with four assists in Saturday's win over UCSB, was named to the South Point Holiday Hoops All-Classic team in Las Vegas Dec. 21-22.

● Junior guard Dominique Dunning had six points and seven rebounds in last Saturday's win over UCSB.  He recorded his first double-double with 11 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in the Dec. 31 win over Hampden-Sydney.

● Junior guard Aaron Wright is 7 of 13 from three-point range for the season.  He had six points and three rebounds in 14 reserve minutes of Saturday's win over UCSB.  Wright scored a season-high 11 points in the Jan. 3 loss at New Mexico State and recorded a career-high four steals in the Dec. 29 loss at Oregon.

● Junior forward Mike Best is shooting 53.7 percent from the field for the season.  He had four points and five rebounds in eight minutes off the bench in last Thursday's win over Cal Poly.  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 last Saturday's win over UCSB.  He is 10 of 18 from the field in the past five games.  He scored a season-high 11 points in the Dec. 6 win over Sacramento State.

● 7-6 sophomore center Mamadou Ndiaye has missed the last five games (left foot) after playing in the previous two contests.  Ndiaye, who has missed 14 games this season, scored a career-high 21 points in the Nov. 29 win at Loyola Marymount, hitting 10 of 11 from the field.

● The 80-49 win over CSUN Jan. 22 was UCI's largest margin of victory over an NCAA Division I school since a 33-point win over Harvard (and Jeremy Lin), 81-48, Dec. 28, 2006, and the largest margin of victory in a Big West game for the Anteaters since a 92-54 win at Idaho Jan. 12, 2002.


ABOUT UC DAVIS

● The Aggies, 16-4 overall and 6-1 in the Big West, rank No. 1 in the nation in three-point field goal percentage at .454 and fourth in overall field-goal percentage (.502).

● Senior guard Corey Hawkins, who leads the Big West in scoring at 21.3 points per game, ranks No. 1 in the nation in three-point shooting at 52.6 percent.

● The Aggies, under fourth-year head coach Jim Les, are ranked 14th in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll.  The 16 victories are a Division I record for UC Davis.

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