Wise earns honor

UC Irvine sophomore Eric Wise has earned second-team All-Big West Conference honors for a second straight season in men’s basketball.

Wise, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound forward, led the Anteaters (14-17) in scoring, rebounding and assists in the regular season. He is only the second player in Irvine history to do so.

Heading into Wednesday’s Big West Tournament first-round game against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (8:15 p.m. at the Anaheim Convention Center), Wise is averaging 16.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. He is also shooting 45% from the field and is chipping in 1.4 steals per contest.

UCI senior shooting guard Michael Hunter received honorable mention.

Hunter, who became the school’s all-time leader in three-pointers with 234 in the ’Eaters dramatic overtime win at Cal Poly, averages 14 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Hunter has made 78 of 213 three-point attempts this season (36.6%).

Orlando Johnson, a sophomore guard from UC Santa Barbara, was named Player of the Year.

Santa Barbara’s Bob Williams is Coach of the Year, while UC Davis’ Julian Welch is the Freshman of the Year.

UCI finished 6-10 in conference and is the No. 7 seed in the eight-team conference tournament.

— From staff reports