UCI’s Sanders earns first-team honors

UC Irvine senior forward Patrick Sanders has been named to the All-Big West Conference first team and senior center Darren Fells was selected to the second team.

The 6-foot-6 Sanders leads the Anteaters in scoring at 15.8 points per game, which ranks sixth in the Big West Conference. He is third in three-point field-goal percentage (.446), sixth in field-goal percentage (.480) and seventh in free-throw percentage (.820).

Sanders ranks 16th all-time at UCI with 1,095 points, plus he has 451 career rebounds and 111 blocked shots.

The 6-7 Fells leads the Big West Conference in field-goal percentage (.566) and offensive rebounds at 2.79 per game. He is ninth in the Big West in scoring (14.2), fifth in rebounding (6.8) and third in steals (1.68).

He ranks fifth in career rebounds at UCI with 741, fifth in steals (99) and 15th in scoring with 1,187 points.

The Anteaters, 15-15 overall and 9-7 in the Big West, are the fifth seed and will face No. 8 Long Beach State Wednesday night at 6 in a first-round game of the Big West Conference Tournament at the Anaheim Convention Center.

UCI will need to win four games in as many days to capture the Big West Tournament championship. The title game is scheduled for Saturday at 8 p.m.

The Big West named Co-Players of the Year for the first time since 1986, awarding seniors Scott Cutley of Cal State Fullerton and Alex Harris of UC Santa Barbara.

Cal State Northridge’s Bobby Braswell was named Big West Coach of the Year.

— From staff reports