Irvine upsets Fullerton

UC Irvine handled higher ranked Cal State Fullerton -- #7 versus #2 -- 65-59 in a Big West Conference Thursday afternoon quarterfinal pairing. Anteater Chris McNealy scored 24 points to top all scorers as D.J. Seeley and Kwame Vaughn totaled 12 points apiece for the Titans.

Irvine 95, Northridge 84

It was UC Irvine 95-84 over Cal State Northridge Saturday night as Chris McNealy posted 21 points, five assists and a trio of rebounds and frosh Will Davis rejected eight Matador shots along with scoring nine points and grabbing six caroms in 26 minutes of action.

UCSB 85, Irvine 62

UC Santa Barbara had no trouble with UC Irvine 85-62 last night as Orlando Johnson went for a 25/10 double-double, along with four assists. James Nunnally contributed seven points, six rebounds and three assists. Freshman T.J. Taylor has been in the starting lineup for several games now. For the Anteaters, Will Davis scored 12 points (6-7 shooting) and fellow freshman Mike Best totaled eight points and three boards in 16 minutes of play.

UC Irvine 68, UC Davis 61

Despite 14 points and eight rebounds from Josh Ritchart, UC Davis fell to Big West opponent UC Irvine 68-61. 16 points, six boards and four assists from Anteater Chris McNealy led the Irvine attack. Travis Souza totaled six points in nine minutes on a pair of treys for the Orange County hosts.

Irvine beats Seattle 78-67

Paced by a tremendous line from freshman Will Davis -- 21 points (9-10 shooting), 10 boards and five blocked shots, all in 23 minutes  -- UC Irvine took down visiting Seattle 78-67.

Irvine falls to Santa Barbara

UC Irvine came into Santa Barbara hoping for an upset but the Gauchos prevailed 74-56. Orlando Johnson led with 15 points, followed by James Nunnally's 11. In 21 minutes, freshman TJ Taylor scored nine points on 4-6 shooting. Fellow frosh Travis Souza paced the Anteaters with 15 points (5-7 on trey attempts).

Irvine falls to Cal Poly

Cal Poly came into Orange County and topped UC irvine 66-50. Chris (San Ramon Valley High) McNealy went scoreless but did grab six boards and pass for a trio of assists. Will (Sacramento High) Davis scored 13 points and nabbed four boards in 23 minutes of play. Mike (Terra Linda High) Best blocked three shots in his 10 minutes of action.

Irvine wins at Davis

Cal Irvine proved too tough, topping host UC Davis 70-55 last night. Chris McNealy paced the Anteaters with a line of 17 points (5-6 from long distance), right rebounds and three assists. Teammate Will Davis put up three points, two boards and four blocked shots in 16 minutes.

Irvine over San Diego

The Anteaters topped San Diego 99-79 Saturday night as soph Chris (San Ramon Valley High) McNealy put up 16 points, six assists and four rebounds. Freshman Will (Sacramento High) Davis totaled 15 points in 18 minutes and Mike (Terra Linda High) Best scored eight points in 12 minutes of play.

Weber tops the Anteaters

Led by Damian Lillard's 21 points/eight rebounds/four assists, visiting Weber State beat UC Irvine 80-72.

For UCI, Chris McNealy had seven points and five boards, Will Davis five and six and Mike Best four and four.

Frank Otis totaled seven points along with five rebounds for the Wildcats.

Cal topped UC Irvine

Cal beat the visiting Anteaters 77-56 last night.

* Chris McNealy has 14 points, three rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes fir UCI

* Will Davis totaled eight points and nine boards in 29 minutes

* Mike Best scored four points in 11 minutes as the Irvine starting center

* Brandon Smith put up a line of seven points, six assists and four rebounds as the starting point for the Bears

More NorCal stars in UC Irvine's second exhibition

UC Irvine won another exhibition game last night so here's the report on the NorCal talents on the Anteater roster who played: 

* Wll Davis - in 22 minutes, 13 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks

* Mike Best - in 20 minutes, three points and four boards

* Chris McNealy - in 20 minutes, eight points, five rebounds 

* Travis Souza - 15 minutes, two points, two assists

A UC Irvine Nor Cal talent update

ESPN's Diamond Leung, in previewing UC Irvine basketball, recently wrote this:

"Guard Brandon Scott was forced to retire after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament for a third time during a San Francisco Pro-Am game"

Sorry to see that news about the former Archbishop Mitty backcourter.

Anteater athletics has the 2011 roster posted -- here are the links for Travis Souza, Will Davis, Reed McConnell, Chris McNealy and Mike Best.

That's one big load of NorCal talent for Coach Russell Turner.

A Chris McNealy update

Former San Ramon Valley star Chris McNealy earned 20 minutes of court time a game in 31 contests this past as a freshman for UC Irvine Coach Russell Turner.

His numbers: 5 points and 2.2 rebounds a game, 38% overall shooting, 35% from long distance and 22 steals. He actually led his team with 14 shotblocks.