IRVINE, Calif. – Evan Leonard had a game-high 22 points as UC Irvine beat UC Davis 71-69 in overtime in the Big West opener at the Bren Events Center Thursday.
 
Five of Leonard's game-high came in the extra period to help the Anteaters improve to 13-4 overall and 1-0 in Big West action. UC Davis falls to 4-11 on the year and 0-1 in conference.
 
The Anteaters made eight of 12 free throws in the extra frame as Leonard went 5-6 from the line.
 

???? #RipEm pic.twitter.com/TTcwovct2k

— UCI M Basketball (@UCImbb) January 11, 2019

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Leonard led the team in scoring for the third time this season with 22 points, going 7-14 from the floor and 7-8 from the free throw line
>Guard Max Hazzard had 15 points followed by Tommy Rutherford with 11 points 
>Forward Jonathan Galloway posted a game-high 10 rebounds
> Robert Cartwright dished out a career-high eight assists while Galloway and Elston Jones had two blocks apiece
>TJ Shorts II led UC Davis with 21 points, 16 coming in the second half and four in overtime
> UCI shot 39.7 percent (23-58) from the floor and 16.7% (4-24) from long range while the Aggies were 25-61 (.41) overall and 5-16 (.313) from three-point range
> The Anteaters out-rebounded UCD 46-38 and held advantages in assists (12-10) and steals (7-3)
 

"Evan Leonard, the steal and the score!"@TrentRushSports on the mic?? for @AudiFJ Rush Calls from last night's win over UC Davis pic.twitter.com/2KGr4IpWSa

— UCI M Basketball (@UCImbb) January 11, 2019

FIRST HALF
>Evan Leonard scored UCI's first five points then Eyassu Worku hit a jumper to give the Anteaters the 7-3 lead at 15:21
>After the Aggies knotted the score at 7 all, UCI exploded on a 11-2 run capped by a Hazzard layup at 8:52
>The Anteaters had a three minute drought letting the Aggies creep within 24-19 before Tommy Rutherford hit a free throw with 44 seconds remaining in the half, 25-19
>Hazzard would hit a fall away three-pointer at the buzzer to give UCI a 28-19 lead at the break
 
SECOND HALF
>UCI went on an 11-0 spurt which included a pair of baskets by Tommy Rutherford in the paint to move the UCI advantage to 40-25 with 14:58 remaining
>The Aggies responded out-scoring the Anteaters 11-2 to tie the game at 43-43 at 9:19
>A three-pointer by Robert Cartwright and two free throws by Collin Welp gave UCI the 49-44 lead at 7:48 
>A three-pointer by UCD's Joe Mooney narrowed the UCI lead to 51-49 before back-to-back buckets by Galloway and Rutherford moved the advantage to 55-49 with 4:28 left
>UCI would lead 61-54 at 1:28 and would watch the Aggies score the final seven points of the half to send the game in to overtime
 
OVERTIME
>A free throw by Cartwright and a rebound put-back by Elston Jones gave UCI a 64-61 lead at 3:50 
>A layup and dunk by UC Davis put the Aggies in front 65-64 at 2:18 
>Four consecutive free throws, three by Leonard and one by Elston Jones gave the Anteaters the 68-65 lead at 1:22
>An acrobatic high arcing layup by TJ Shorts (68-67) was followed by a pair of Leonard free throws, 70-67 (0:22) 
>Shorts would fly down the court for another layup with 16 ticks remaining (70-69)
>The Aggies would foul Cartwright on the inbound and he would make the first (:16), but missed the second giving the Aggies life, but the final shot would not fall giving the Anteaters the 71-69
 

Here's one way to start @BigWestMBB play....71-69 win over UC Davis in OT.

??????
22 pts for Evan Leonard on the night. pic.twitter.com/KxFnZC9tWz

— UCI M Basketball (@UCImbb) January 11, 2019

HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER ON TONIGHT'S BIG WEST SEASON OPENING WIN
"I am excited to win and I am proud of my team for some of the improvements they showed in areas. We still have a long way to go for us to be better but down the stretch we found a way to get it done. It showed we are a mature team and we expect to win games like tonight."
 
NOTES
>UCI is 6-1 at the Bren Events Center this year
> The last time the Anteaters opened the Big West season with an overtime game was in 2012-13 where they defeated UC Davis 69-58
>UCI has held opponents to 20 points or less in the first half for the fourth time this season
>UCI has led the opponents on the boards for the 11th time
>Hazzard has 10 consecutive games with a three-pointer
>UCI snapped a streak of three overtime losses
> Galloway's 10 rebounds put him at 802 in career rebounds

UP NEXT
> UCI will travel to Cal State Fullerton Saturday (Jan. 12) for a 6:00 p.m. tip-off at Titan Gym