IRVINE, Calif. – Utah State went 13-24 from three-point range to beat UC Irvine, 89-65 at the Bren Events Center Saturday night.
 
The Anteaters suffer their second loss of the season (7-2) and first at home (2-1). Utah State improves to 7-1 overall.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Utah State shot 54.2 percent from three-point distance, hitting 10-14 (71.4) in the second half
>In comparison, UCI shot 1-14 from beyond the arc for the game
>UCI was led by Eyassu Worku with 11 points, the lone Anteater in double figures
> Robert Carwright went 5-5 from the free thow line and finished with nine points
>The Anteaters were out-rebounded 41-27 on the glass
> UCI only committed seven turnovers while USU had 11
>Utah State had four players in double-digits led by Quinn Taylor with 21 points, hitting 5-7 three-pointers
>Neemis Queta had a game-high 19 rebounds for the Aggies to go with 11 points

FIRST HALF
>Utah State's Queta Neemias had a layup and rebound dunk to put the Aggies up 13-8 at 13:16
>The Anteaters would answer on a layup by Elston Jones and a fall away baseline jumper by Spencer Rivers, 13-12
>Back-to-back three-pointers by Utah State opened their lead to 21-14
>Two more USU jumpers gave them a 33-19 advantage with 3:07 to go in the half 
>UCI would end the period, outscoring Utah State 8-4, including scoring the final five points of the half to close to 37-27
>The Anteaters had a balanced offense with five players scoring four points and Elston Jones leading the pack with five 

SECOND HALF
>Utah State came out hot in the second half, going 8-11 from the floor, including 6-6 from three-point range to extend the margin to 61-38 at 13:13
>The Aggies would build its largest lead (67-43) at 10:12 when John Knight III made a pair of free throws
> Jonathan Galloway had eight points in the second half while Worku had seven
>Darrian Traylor hit the 'Eaters lone 3-pointer of the night with 2:06 to play

HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER ON TONIGHT'S LOSS
"We did not rebound the ball or defend well tonight. We just didn't play well and it was contagious. We struggled to make shots and Utah State played really well and it looked like we weren't ready."

NOTES
>UCI's 24 point deficit is the most since the Anteaters' 24-point loss at UCLA Nov. 26, 2017
>It is the second time this season Worku has led the team in scoring
>UCI's 27 rebounds are the third lowest this season
> It marked only the second time UCI did not lead in rebounds this season
>The Aggies have won the last three meetings with UCI
> A team has not scored 13 3-pointers or more against UCI since Whittier 11/29/17
 
UP NEXT
>UCI will travel to Cal Baptist next Wednesday (Dec. 5) before returning home next Saturday to host Montana (Dec. 8) at 7:00 p.m. at the Bren Events Center