SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (AP)—Junior guard Michael Hunter scored 14 points and dished out eight assists as UC Irvine broke away in the second half with a 20-3 run en route to an 80-63 victory over Cal Poly Saturday.
Freshman forward Eric Wise added 16 points and senior center Kevin Bland had 11 with seven assists as the Anteaters improved to 4-11 overall and 2-1 in Big West games.
Cal Poly, led by junior guard Lorenzo Keeler’s 20 points, fell to 3-11 and 0-4 with its sixth straight loss.
After a close first half with three lead changes and three ties, Keeler’s pair of free throws with 12:30 to play in the game pulled Cal Poly to within five points.
The Anteaters then went on a 20-3 run to break the game open. Freshman forward Derrick Strings, sophomore guard Patrick Rembert and junior guard Michael Hunter all hit three-pointers to ignite the spurt and Hunter capped the run with a jumper with 6:26 to go. Cal Poly could get no closer than the 17-point final margin.
Turnovers were sparse—UC Irvine committing one more than Cal Poly, 8-7 — but the Anteaters built a commanding 40-26 advantage on the boards, including 14 on the offensive end of the floor.
Wise had seven to lead UC Irvine while sophomore forward Wes Dipprey grabbed eight for the Mustangs.
UC Irvine made half of its 64 floor shots, including nine of 17 from three-point range, while holding Cal Poly to just 35 percent efficiency (six of 17 three-pointers).
Senior guard Chaz Thomas contributed 14 points and three assists while sophomore guard Shawn Lewis had 10 points and five boards for Cal Poly.
