TAIPEI, Taiwan – Newcomer Derin Saran led the charge in the Anteaters 109-49 victory over United Arab Emirates behind a 22-point performance.

Saran shot 10-15 (0.667) from the floor, made two shots from the charity stripe, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out an assist, and striped the ball twice in 17 minutes of action.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Six Anteaters scored in double figures: Saran, Langston Redfield, Dean Keeler, Andre Henry, Bent Leuchten, and Pierre Crockrell II
>UCI shot 42-75 (0.560) overall from the floor and held their opponent to 19-70 (0.271)
>The 'Eaters held the advantage off the glass with 50 rebounds
>UC Irvine took advantage of all specialty stat categories scoring 25 off fast breaks, 20 off turnovers, 16 second chance points, and 62 in the paint.
>Crockrell II assisted on six baskets while Redfield dished out five assists
>Freshman Ben Egbo shot a perfect 2-2 from the field, scoring one of his baskets on a one handed slam  
>All 12 active players for UCI scored
 
FROM HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER
"I am proud of my team for our performance today. We were slow in the beginning I thought because it is difficult to learn to play on back-to-back days. Our team responded well and we had great performances from a couple of key guys, one of which is next to me (Derin Saran). Our defensive intent wore out the UAE team and I give them a lot of credit for how strongly they defended us at the beginning of the game."

UCI started off slow offensively and defensively, but the momentum picked up as Saran and Henry found their way to the basket. The guard Henry was a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line and led the team with three steals.

Keeler continued his incredible defensive effort with four boards, a steal, and a block, the fifth year contributed 13 points to the offensive effort along with an assist. Fellow big man Bent Leuchten poured in 11 points with one three-pointer, perfect 4-4 shooting from the line, and grabbed eight rebounds off the glass. Sophomore Eli Chol brought down a game best nine rebounds while freshman Jurian Dixon had eight.
 
Fifth year Crockrell II was the final 'Eater to reach double figures and did so by taking the open dunk opportunity. Splitting time running the top, Redfield went 6-8 (0.750) from the floor including perfect 3-3 inside the arc. Akiva McBirney-Griffin wowed fans with his seven points, using his spin moves to get around the defenders in the paint. Guard Dylan Thoerner heated up late in the game, knocking down two three-pointers during the fourth quarter.

UP NEXT
UCI will take on Japan at 3 p.m. China Standard Time (12 a.m. PST) on Monday August 14.