IRVINE, Calif. – The UC Irvine men's basketball team started the 2018-19 campaign with an 86-68 victory over Idaho at the Bren Events Center Tuesday night.
 
The Anteaters out-scored the Vandals 56-34 in the second half to open the season with a win for the first time since 2015.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Eyassu Worku led the Anteaters with 18 points on 8-12 shooting from the floor. He also had a team-high six assists
>John Edgar Jr. recorded 14 points followed by Max Hazzard with 11 points and five assists
>UCI controlled the glass, out-rebounding Idaho, 42-22
>Jonathan Galloway and Elston Jones shared the team lead in rebounds with nine apiece
> Jones also had three blocks and nine points
> UCI shot 54 percent (34-63) overall and 40 percent (8-20) from behind the three-point line
> The Anteaters out-scored the Vandals 38-18 in the paint and 32-13 off the bench
>Idaho knocked down 12 three-pointers and were led by Jared Rodriguez with 18 points, two coming from beyond the arc. Cameron Tyson knocked down 5-9 three-pointers and ended with 17 points
 
TURNING POINTS
FIRST HALF
>Idaho opened with a 9-2 lead (15:26) before John Edgar Jr. hit a jumper then Eyassu Worku had a steal and layup and Evan Leonard had a layup down the lane to draw the Anteaters within 8-9 forcing a Vandal timeout at 14:32
>Elston Jones hit a basket in the paint and was fouled, making the free throw at 10:59 to give UCI its first lead of the game 15-14
>With UCI holding a 23-18 lead, Idaho's Cameron Tyson would hit three consecutive three-pointers to put the Vandals in front, 27-23 with 5:53 to go in the half.
>Despite Idaho shooting 51.9 percent from the floor (14-27), including 6-11 from long distance, UCI only trailed 30-34 in the first half
>The Anteaters were 1-11 from three-point range, but dominated the glass out-rebounding the Vandals 22-12
 
SECOND HALF
> UCI caught up to Idaho 39-39 on a Worku three-pointer at 16:41
>The Anteaters went on a 12-3 run which was capped by a Colin Welp layup at 11:11 to take a 56-49 lead
>The Vandals would get within 57-55 on another three-pointer, but a 9-2 spurt which was ignited by a Robert Cartwright three-pointer extended the lead back to 66-57 with 6:07 remaining
> UCI held the advantage the rest of the game and led by as much as 18 points 84-66 with 1:22 to play
> Worku had 14 points in the second half while Edgar Jr. had 10. Both Anteaters made two 3-pointers apiece in that stretch

COACH TURNER ON TONIGHT'S WIN
""We played very differently in the second half than we did in the first half. Early on offensively we were just off and the shots weren't going int. In the second half, we were more patient and got into a rhythm. We have so many guys who can contribute and I am asking a lot of them."
 
NOTES
> UCI has never lost to Idaho in Irvine increasing its record to 11-0 all-time
> The Anteaters have won two-straight games against Idaho
> UCI won its season-opener for the first time since 2015
> 18 points for Eyassu Worku is just shy of his career-high 20 set in 2017-18
 
UP NEXT
>UCI will travel to Texas A&M Friday (Nov. 9) for a 6:30 p.m. PT start.