Parada Stands Tall, UC Irvine Tops Idaho

Adam Parada scored a career-high 24 points Thursday and UC Irvine overcame its worst shooting performance of the year in defeating Idaho, 52-38, in a Big West Conference men’s basketball game at Irvine.

Parada, a seven-foot sophomore center from Alta Loma, surpassed his previous high of 20 with a dunk midway through the second half, giving the Anteaters a 40-26 lead.

Parada made nine of 16 shots. The remaining Anteaters made only nine of 39 shots, missing all 10 of their three-point attempts.

Idaho (7-14, 4-8), which doesn’t have a player taller than 6-6, was outrebounded, 48-25, including 21-6 on the offensive end. Parada led the Anteaters with 13 rebounds and J.R. Christ had 10 in 14 minutes.

No player scored in double figures for the Vandals, who produced the lowest point total for a UC Irvine opponent in the history of the Bren Center. Jerry Green scored 19 points for league-leading Irvine (17-6, 10-2), which hosts second-place Utah State on Saturday night.

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Dan Arritt