IRVINE, Calif. – The UC Irvine men's basketball team secured a 69-49 win over UC Santa Barbara Thursday night in the Bren Events Center.
The win bumps UCI into first place in the conference standings with just two regular-season games left to play. The 'Eaters improve to 15-15 on the season and 10-4 in the Big West. UCSB falls to 9-4 in the conference and 20-7 overall.
Max Hazzard posted 16 points on 6-11 shooting from the floor and four three-pointers.
Evan Leonard had 13 points while
Eyassu Worku tallied 11 points to go along with a team-best five assists. On defense,
Elston Jones grabbed a game-high 10 boards and swatted two blocks.
UCI held UCSB to just 31.6 percent (18-57) in shooting from the floor and limited the Gauchos to 25 percent (4-16) from behind the arc. The 'Eaters shot 40.9 percent (27-66) overall and went 9-of-24 (.38) from the three-point line. UCI made all six of its free throw attempts.
Dominating the glass, the Anteaters finished with 47 rebounds compared to the Gauchos 34.
UCSB was led by Gabe Vincent's 17 points while Leland King II grabbed seven rebounds.
The Anteaters took advantage of the Gauchos 10 turnovers, tallying 12 points off the visitors' mishaps.
UCI never trailed, jumping out to a quick five point advantage to begin the game before UCSB got on the board. The Anteaters broke open the half scoring eight unanswered points to go up, 25-11, with 9:27 showing on the clock. Rutherford made back-to-back layups during the stretch. The 'Eaters capped the frame with a five-point run that stretched the lead to 18, making it a 37-19 game heading into the locker rooms. Hazzard led the way with 13 points, notching three 3-pointers and shooting 5-of-9 from the floor.
UCI held the Gauchos to just 20 percent (1-5) from behind the three-point line and 32 percent (8-25) in shooting from the floor for the half.
The 'Eaters maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half, however, a UCI scoring drought midway through the second half brought the Gauchos within 13, 54-39, with 8:35 left to play. A three-pointer from Worku gave the Anteaters their largest lead of the game, 63-41, at 4:46.
Jonathan Galloway capped the scoring with a dunk in the final minute of the game.
UCI travels to Honolulu for a Big West matchup against Hawai'i (15-10, 6-6) Saturday, Feb 24 at 9:00 p.m. PST.
NOTES: Hazzard's 16 points are the most he has scored since he led the team with 16 against UT Rio Grande Valley (12/9/17)...UCSB's 19 points at the half ties UC Riverside for the lowest this season … The 18-point lead at the half is the fourth-largest this year … Nine three-pointers are most from long distance since the Anteaters hit 10 at CSUN (Jan. 13) … UCSB entered the game as the Big West leader in points-per-game averaging 76.1 … The Anteaters have hit 19 consecutive free throws … UCI is 7-4 in the Bren this season...The Anteaters have not trailed in either of the last two games...the 'Eaters have held 5 of its 6 opponents to under 60 points in the month of February and all six have shot under 36% from the field
