RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Anteater big men led the UC Irvine men's basketball team to a 69-66 victory over California Baptist, Wednesday at CBU Events Center.

With the win, UCI improves to 8-2 on the season while CBU drops to 4-5 overall.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Tommy Rutherford led UCI with a season-best 14 points on 6-10 shooting from the field
> Collin Welp finished with nine points while Jonathan Galloway and Eyassu Worku each had eight
> Galloway led the 'Eaters on the glass picking up 10 rebounds. He also had two blocks
> UCI shot 39.7 percent (23-58) from the floor and 41.7 percent (5-12) from long range
> The Lancers were 8-22 (.364) from behind the three-point line and 23-57 (.404) from the field
> UCI scored 20 points off of CBU's 14 turnovers while the 'Eaters only committed eight
> The Anteaters held advantages in points off the bench (28-17) and points in the paint (32-28)
> The Lancers out-rebounded UCI 40-35

TURNING POINTS
First Half
> Welp made a three-pointer to put UCI up, 8-5, at the first media timeout (16:28)
> CBU went on a 5-2 run to take its only lead of the half, 12-10, with 13:23 before Galloway made a dunk to jump start a 9-1 run for the 'Eaters that put them up, 19-13, at 8:23
> UCI stretched the lead to seven, 29-22, with just over three minutes remaining
> The Lancers scored four-straight points down the stretch to make it 33-28 (:59) but two-made free throws from Eyassu Worku gave UCI a 33-28 halftime lead
> Galloway had six points and five rebounds
> CBU committed nine turnovers in the frame and UCI was able to score 12 points off the Lancers' mishaps

Second Half
> Rutherford made a 3-pointer with 18:38 to play to give UCI its largest lead of the game, 40-32
> The Lancers answered with an eight-point run to knot the game, 40-40, with 15:39 remaining
> UCI scored six unanswered points to stretch the lead to seven, 50-43, with 9:50 to play but CBU went on a 7-0 run making it 52-52 with 6:22 remaining
> A Hazzard 3-pointer gave UCI a six-point, 58-52, advantage (5:04), however, the Lancers' Acquaah hit a three with just over a minute remaining to make it a one-point, 66-65, game. The 'Eaters were able to hold on to seal the 69-66 win
> Rutherford had 12 points in the frame

HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER ON TONIGHT'S WIN
"I am excited about coming up here and getting a win. I give a lot of credit to CBU they are a good team with a winning tradition. I thought our team played well enough to win. It wasn't great basketball but I liked the way that we bounced back from last Saturday's performance and grinded out another road win."

NOTES
> UCI earned its ninth-straight road win, tying the third-longest DI road win streaks
> The 'Eaters improve to 2-0 all-time against the Lancers
> Galloway grabbed double-digit rebounds for the fourth time this season
> Along with his season-high 14 points, Rutherford hit his first 3-pointer of the season and seventh of his career

UP NEXT
> UCI returns home to face Montana Saturday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Bren Events Center