SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The duo of Evan Leonard and John Edgar Jr. powered UC Irvine to a 75-58 win over Cal Poly at Mott Athletic Center Saturday.  

"I think we were locked in and focused early," UCI head coach Russell Turner said. "We played at a high level from the start, took care of the basketball, hit our free throws and dominated inside."

Edgar Jr. posted a career-high 21 points on 9-14 shooting from the floor to go with seven rebounds. Leonard matched his 21 points going 7-13 from the floor and 4-4 from the free throw line. The guard hit three three-pointers and had two assists in 24 minutes of action.

Eyassu Worku added 10 points and a career-high eight assists. Tommy Rutherford had nine points, all in the second half plus six rebounds and two blocks. Jonathan Galloway had a game-high nine rebounds, while Brad Greene chipped in six points.

The Anteaters (14-15, 9-4) were a perfect 11-11 from the line and dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Mustangs 43-22. After a season-low percentage beyond the arc the previous game, UCI drained six three-pointers, five in the first half.

"John got going early and had lots of confidence and played good defense," Turner continued. "I thought Brandon Smith, even though he didn't score, was effective playing good defense and moving the ball around. Elston Jones and Brad Greene were fabulous on their pick and roll."

Cal Poly (8-19, 3-10) was led by Victor Joseph's 16 points and Donovan Fields' 10 points. The Mustangs knocked down 5-22 from long range and went 15-20 from the line.

John Edgar Jr. scored eight of UCI's 11 points to get UCI out to an 11-2 lead at 16:16. It took Cal Poly over six minutes to score a field goal, but when they did they were on a 7-2 run to close within 13-9 at 12:05. UCI responded scoring 12 unanswered which included two three-pointers and a layup by Evan Leonard plus two buckets by Brad Greene to put the Anteaters back up 25-9 at 8:39. UCI built the lead to 20 (31-11) at 6:22 and were up by 19 at 5:44 when an 11-0 run by the Mustangs, 10 scored by Victor Joseph got the Cal Poly back in the game, 33-25 with 1:18 to play in the half. A basket by Brad Greene stopped a 4:15 minute draught for the Anteaters and halted the Mustangs' run, 35-25 (0:58). A pair of free throws by Cal Poly with 1.1 left on the clock made the halftime score 35-27.

The Mustangs would close to 43-38 on a free throw by Jakub Niziol at 12:39, but the Anteaters responded with the next six to open up another double-digit lead, 51-40 at 10:55. Cal Poly would make a move late, narrowing the margin to 62-56 on a jumper by Donovan Fields only to watch UCI go on an 11-1 spurt which was capped by a Tommy Rutherford dunk and a pair of Leonard free throws to put the game away 72-57 with 55 seconds left. Edgar Jr. would lay it in and get fouled, making the free throw to end the scoring, 75-56 with 24 seconds left.

UCI returns home to entertain UC Santa Barbara in a pivotal Big West showdown on Thursday (Feb. 22) at 7:30 p.m.

"We know what position we are in, we've earned it by growth and improvement," Turner ended. "I really hope we can generate a crowd for our final home games."

NOTES: The win is the fifth consecutive victory in San Luis Obispo for the Anteaters…It is the first time UCI has been perfect at the line this season (11-11)…UCI's 21 rebound difference is the fourth most this year…UCI has out-rebounded the opponent 23 times this season…Rutherford snapped a streak of eight straight games in double-figures…He hit his sixth three-pointer of the year.