Out-glassing Hawai’i in a big way, UC Irvine flexed its muscle Saturday night and denied the visiting Warriors, 74-60, to win its Big West Conference men’s basketball opener.
A crowd of 2,938 at UCI’s Bren Events Center and a live streaming audience on ESPN3 watched Collin Welp score a game-high 18 points and grab five rebounds and Evan Leonard add 14 points and four boards as the defending league champion Anteaters improved to 9-8 overall. Brad Greene added 13 points and 21 rebounds for UCI, which out-rebounded UH overall, 49-34.
Samuta Avea scored 14 points and grabbed five boards and Eddie Stansberry added 11 points for the Warriors, who fell to 10-6, 1-1.