TAIPEI, Taiwan – Seven Anteaters scored in double figures to lead UC Irvine to victory over Japan, 108-47.

Freshman Derin Saran led the scoring and rebounding efforts with his double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Saran, Andre Henry, Ofure Ujadughele, Hayden Welling, Carter Welling, Emilis Butkus, and Jurian Dixon recorded double digit scoring
>The Anteaters shot 38-70 (.560) overall from the floor and held their opponent to 19-70 (.271)
>UCI held the advantage off the glass with an impressive 65 rebounds
>UC Irvine took advantage of all specialty stat categories scoring 17 off fast breaks, six off turnovers, 21 second chance points, 59 bench points, and 48 in the paint.
>Guard Langston Redfield assisted on six baskets, a game high
>Ben Egbo, Emilis Butkus, and Jurian Dixon shot perfect (2-2) from the line
>All 12 active players for UCI scored for the third consecutive game
 
FROM ASSISTANT COACH MICHAEL WILDER
"We had a really good performance tonight. I think we are showing that a lot of guys that we have are able to play well, play well together even if we have a different combination of guys in the game. I give Japan credit because they came out ready and ready for us early. They made threes early and made us work, putting us on notice. I am proud of the way our guys responded after the first quarter. I think we did a really good job of pushing the tempo and created an edge defensively to force tougher shots than the first five minutes of the game."

Japan struck first with a three-pointer before Henry responded with one of his own. The guard then knocked down two more shots from range to go 3-3 behind the arc. Ofure Ujadughele finished the game with 13 points, nine of which were off three consecutive triples.

The Welling brothers impressed on both offense and defense. Hayden Welling poured in 13 points in 19 minutes on the court while pulling down eight rebounds and blocking two shots. Similarly, Carter Welling also had eight boards, a block, and scored 11 points in 24 minutes.

Redshirt sophomore Akiva McBirney-Griffin shot an efficient 4-5 from the floor, dished out three dimes, and blocked two shots. In only 11 minutes, Bent Leuchten pulled down nine off the glass.
 
Emilis Butkus was hot early on in the first quarter, nailing two treys and went 4-7 from the floor overall for 12 points. Freshman Jurian Dixon hit two quick shots at the end to finish the game with 10 points. Justin Hohn, alongside Saran, led the team with four assists.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine will quickly turn around to play Korea on Tuesday August 15 at 1 p.m. China Standard Time (10 p.m. PST).