MORAGA, Calif. – Evan Leonard finished with a team-high 22 points as the UC Irvine men's basketball team defeated Saint Mary's, 80-75, Wednesday night in Moraga.

With the win, UCI improves to 7-1 on the season. Saint Mary's drops to 3-4 overall.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Five Anteaters scored in double-figures
> Leonard finished with 22 points including four three-pointers
> Max Hazzard had 14 points on 6-11 shooting from the field while Collin Welp, Robert Cartwright and John Edgar Jr. finished with 12, 11, and 11 points, respectively
> Tommy Rutherford had a team-best six rebounds, Welp and Jonathan Galloway each had five
> As a team, UCI out-rebounded SMC 32-29 including 9-5 on the offensive boards and held an advantage in steals, 5-2
> The 'Eaters shot 48.3 percent (29-60) from the field and 38.9 percent (7-18) from three-point range while the Gaels finished 50 percent (28-52) overall and 38.5 percent (5-13) from long range
> UCI out-scored SMC 49-13 off the bench, the Gaels held a 38-28 edge in points in the paint
> The 'Eaters only committed six turnovers, the Gaels had eight
> Jordan Ford finished with a game-high 30 points for SMC while Malik Fitts pulled down nine rebounds

TURNING POINTS
First Half
> John Edgar Jr. scored six early points but the Gaels jumped out to a 12-6 lead at the first media timeout (15:40)
> Leonard's first three-pointer of the night jump started a 9-0 run for the Anteaters as they took the lead, 17-15 with 11:41 to play
> The Gaels answered going up, 21-17, (8:05) before Hazzard hit a three-pointer followed by a layup by Elston Jones to make it 22-21 in favor of UCI at 6:41
> The teams exchanged back-and-forth points down the stretch as Leonard hit his third three-pointer of the night with 1:24 to play to give the 'Eaters a 33-32 edge
> The Gaels' Dan Fotu knocked down a three with 10 seconds left to put SMC in the lead, 35-33, at halftime
> Leonard finished with a team-best 11 points on 4-6 shooting from the field

Second Half
> The Gaels went on a 13-6 run to start the second half, taking a 46-39 lead with 14:31 to play
> Cartwright scored seven-straight points to knot the game, 46-46 (12:45)
> The game tied seven times down the stretch as neither team would lead by more than four points and remained deadlocked, 64-64, with 5:08 remaining
> SMC led by three, 68-65, with 3:51 to play but UCI used an 8-2 run to take a lead they would not relinquish, 73-69 (1:20)
> The Gaels came within two, 75-73, with 20 seconds left to play but UCI made 5-6 free throws in the final seconds to seal the 80-75 win
> Leonard had 11 points in the frame while Welp tallied 10

EVAN LEONARD ON TONIGHT'S WIN
"It was my first full game back and I was just happy to run up and down the court. I give a lot of credit to my teammates for getting me into the game and finding me spots where they know I can score. I was just glad I was able to get in there and help my team win."

NOTES
> Tonight marked head coach Russell Turners 164^th career win, moving him up to second place in the UCI's all-time career wins. He passes Bill Mulligan (163 wins)
> 22 points is a season-high for Leonard as he appeared in just his third game of the season
> UCI improves its road win streak to 8-0, the third  best road-winning streak in DI men's basketball. The 'Eaters are behind Virginia (10 wins) and Gonzaga (9 wins)
> This was UCI's first win at St. Mary's since Dec. 22 2002

UP NEXT
> UCI returns home to host Utah State at the Bren Events Center Saturday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.