INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The UC Irvine men's basketball team out-scored Butler 37-30 in the second half but were unable to overcome a 24-point halftime deficit ultimately falling, 71-54, Friday night at Hinkle Field House.

UCI drops to 11-3 on the season while Butler improves to 9-3 overall.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Tommy Rutherford had a team-high eight points finishing 6-6 at the free throw line
> Jonathan Galloway grabbed a team-best seven boards, had seven points, two assists and a block
> Elston Jones finished with seven points and six rebounds while John Edgar Jr. had seven points
> 11 different Anteaters scored at least two points
> The 'Eaters struggled behind the arc, shooting 11.8% percent from long range while finishing 18-51 (.353) overall
> UCI held advantages in steals (7-4) and points in the paint (36-18)
> The Bulldogs shot 52.9% (9-17) from three-point range and 41.2 (21-51) overall
> Paul Jorgensen led Butler with 19 points and seven rebounds

First Half
>UCI trailed the entire game, falling behind 9-3 at the first media timeout (15:18)
>A Layup by Jones followed by a fast break bucket from John Edgar Jones kept the 'Eaters within seven, 14-7, with 12:39 to play
> A three-pointer by Jordan Tucker at 8:10 gave the Bulldogs a double-digit lead they would not relinquish
>Tucker hit a three at the buzzer to make it 41-17 at the half
>Cold shooting doomed the Anteaters. UCI shot just 28% (7-25) from the field and 0-7 from three-point range

Second Half
> Back-to-back jumpers from Evan Leonard made it an 18-point 46-28 game (15:04)
>A made free-throw from Galloway with 12:34 to play brought the 'Eaters within 15, 47-32
>Butler used a 9-4 run to go up 60-37 with 8:23 remaining
>Rutherford would make two free throws to start a 9-0 for UCI that ended with a Galloway layup to make it 64-46 (5:04)
>The 'Eaters went on an 8-4 run down the stretch ultimately suffering the 71-54 defeat
>Rutherford had six points in the frame while Galloway tallied seven rebounds
>UCI shot 42.3% (11-26) overall in the frame  

HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER ON TONIGHT'S LOSS
"I thought that we competed in the second half. I thought we looked a little shell-shocked when we came out in the first half and a lot of credit to Butler. I am proud of this team for fighting back in the second half the way we did."

UP NEXT
> UCI will return to the court to play Pacific Saturday, Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. in Stockton

NOTES
> Jonathan Galloway's seven rebounds tonight moved him to 781 career boards and No. 4 all-time at UCI surpassing Darren Fells
> The loss snapped a 10-game road-winning streak for the 'Eaters which dated back to Jan. 20, 2018 at UCSB
> UCI and Butler met for the first time tonight
> The Anteaters were out-rebounded for the fourth time this season and are 1-3 when that happens