Awaji in doghouse, left home by UC Irvine

The UC Irvine men’s basketball team is without senior guard Chuma Awaji, who did not make the two-game road trip to South Carolina and Harvard due to disciplinary reasons, Coach Pat Douglass said.

Awaji, a 6-foot-3 reserve, had been averaging 7.5 points this season in 11 games, including one start. He started the third game of the season against Nevada. He scored 14 points in 13 minutes against Utah State, 13 points in 22 minutes against Mississippi State and 16 points in 22 minutes against San Diego.

His output of one point every 2.18 minutes played ranks second on the team to Fells, who, coming into Friday’s game, had scored a point every 2.17 minutes of playing time.

Awaji is shooting 37.5% from the field (27 of 72) and 23.5% from three-point range (eight for 34). In his last three games, he has combined to produce four points, five turnovers, three steals, one assist and three rebounds in 40 combined minutes. He is one for 12 from the field and zero for five from three-point range during those three games.

Awaji, a transfer from Lon Morris College in Texas who graduated from Dorsey High in Los Angeles, averaged 7.9 points in 33 games as a junior, including 27 starts. He shot 39.3% from the field and 81% from the free-throw line and contributed 3.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists per contest.

UCI visits Harvard Sunday and opens Big West Conference play Friday at Cal State Fullerton.

— From staff reports