UC Irvine Take Down Huskies

The tallest NCAA player came up big on Thursday night, when 7-foot-6 freshman Mamadou Ndiaye scored 18 points, added nine blocks and eight rebounds to lead UC Irvine to an 86-72 win over host Washington.

Ndiaye closed out the first half with a traditional three-point play to put UCI (1-2) ahead 38-36, then he had an emphatic dunk to spark a 19-3 run over the opening 5 ½ minutes of the second half.

Will Davis had a team-high 22 points for the Anteaters, while Luke Nelson added 11 points and six assists.

Washington's C.J. Wilcox had a game-high 24 points in the losing effort. The Huskies (1-1) were playing without 6-foot-10 post player Jernard Jarreau, who suffered a season-ending knee injury over the weekend, and Washington had no answer for Ndiaye.

UCI shot 59.6 percent (34 of 57) from the field and outrebounded Washington 42-36. The Huskies shot 37.5 percent.