by By Sarah Zetlmeisl, ucirvinesports.com
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – UC Irvine dropped its season opener to Pepperdine, 86-72, Wednesday afternoon at Viejas Arena.
UCI falls to 0-1 on the season while the Waves improve to 1-0.
The Anteaters shot 39.1 percent (27-69) from the floor and 40 percent (6-15) from long range while Pepperdine went 32-64 overall from the floor.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Brad Greene (Paiute/Shoshone) had a career-high 20 points on 10-16 shooting from the floor. Greene grabbed a game-high nine boards.
> Freshman Dawson Baker made a statement in his first game as an Anteater, finishing with 13 points and six assists
> Collin Welp also finished in double-digits with 11 points
> UCI lost the battle of the boards, 41-35, and was outscored 36-30 in the paint. The ‘Eaters bench outscored Pepperdine’s 33-22
> The Waves’ Kessler Edwards finished with 20 points and seven rebounds
FIRST HALF
> Greene scored the first points of the season, making a second chance layup. Welp added seven-straight points to put the ‘Eaters up 9-6, before Lee hit a three-pointer to make it UCI 12, Pepperdine 6 at the first media timeout (15:08)
> UCI’s freshmen each score their first points as Andre Henry made a layup, followed by a Baker jumper and Emmanuel Tshimanga jumper to put the ‘Eaters up 20-13 with 12:32 remaining
> Two made three’s from the Waves followed by jumper cut the UCI lead to three, 24-21, with 9:53 to play
> Greene scored six-straight points to give UCI a seven-point, 30-23, lead with 6:12 to play
> Pepperdine would tie the game, 34-34, with two minutes remaining. Baker made a jumper at 1:31 but the Waves used a 6-0 run in the final 90 seconds to go up, 41-36, at the half
> Greene led all players with 14 points and six rebounds
SECOND HALF
>Pepperdine opened the half with an 8-0 run which included a pair of threes by Colbey Ross, to extend the advantage to 49-36 at 17:45
>Jeron Artest would end the drought with a three-pointer at 16:55, 48-39
>A 13-3 Pepperdine run increased the margin to 61-42 at 13:02
>A layup by Ohia Obioha would give the Waves its largest lead of 23 (73-50) at 8:20
>UCI didn’t quit, scoring seven unanswered on two free throws by Henry a three-pointer by Baker and a pair of free throws by Ofure Ujadughele, 75-61 (5:11)
>The Anteaters would get as close as 14 on two other occasions, the last, the final score as Baker put in the final five points, 86-72
UP NEXT
UCI will play San Diego State Friday, Nov. 27 at 4 p.m. at Viejas Arena.
