IRVINE, Calif. – Elston Jones posted a career-high 14 points in UC Irvine's 82-64 victory over UC Riverside at the Bren Events Center Saturday.
 
The Anteater post players scored 42 of the Anteaters' 82 points and pulled down 24 rebounds.
 
UCI wins its third consecutive game and improves to 17-5 overall and 5-1 in the Big West. UC Riverside falls to 8-14 on the year and 2-4 in league action.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Jones went 6-9 from the floor and 2-3 from the free throw line, while grabbing seven rebounds and swatting two blocks
>Jonathan Galloway recorded his third double-double with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds
>Guard Max Hazzard went 4-6 from the field, including 3-4 from long range to end the night with 11 points
>Forward Tommy Rutherford scored all 10 of his points in the first half
>Eyassu Worku and Collin Welp each added seven points with Worku dishing a game-best six assists
>The Anteaters shot 52.5 percent from the field (31-59), 55.6 percent from three-point range (10-18) and 83.3 percent from the free throw line (10-12)
> UCI held advantages in rebounds (38-30), assists (19-9) and blocks (4-0)
>Dikymbe Martin had a game-high 16 points for UC Riverside
> The Highlanders shot 41.6 percent overall and 33.3 percent from long range

TURNING POINTS
FIRST HALF
>Eyassu Worku started the game with back-to-back jumpers and Jonathan Galloway hit a shot in the paint to extend the lead to 7-3 at 17:28
>A 7-2 run by Riverside gave the Highlanders a 10-9 advantage at 15:54
>UCI responded with a 9-2 run which included two baskets by Jonathan Galloway, one by Tommy Rutherford and a three-pointer by Max Hazzard to regain control 18-12 at 13:08
>A three-pointer by Robert Cartwright capped a 7-3 spurt to widen the gap to 25-15 at 9:07
>A layup and free throw by JC Butler gave UCI a 37-22 lead at 5:03 before UCR scored eight unanswered to edge to 37-30 at 2:33
>Rutherford would score the final four of points of the half to send the Anteaters in to the locker room with a 41-30 lead
>The Anteater post players accounted for 22 of UCI's 41 points
 
SECOND HALF
>The Highlanders would out-score UCI 10-4 (45-40) out of the break to force an Anteater timeout at 17:30 
>Five points by Collin Welp and another three-pointer by Hazzard followed to put the Anteaters up 53-40 before UCR made a layup to bring the game within 11, 53-42 (14:42)
>Hazzard knocked down a three-pointer and the Anteaters would never look back as the Highlanders would only get as close as 15 the rest of the way
> The 'Eaters would go up by as much as 27 with just under two minutes to play
> Jones had eight points in the frame while Welp tallied seven
 
HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER ON TONIGHT'S WIN
"It was a good win tonight and I am pleased with our teams' response in returning from Hawai'i and coming back home to play hard. I thought tonight we dictated and controlled the game and I am pleased with that."
 
NOTES
>Galloway had his sixth career double-double and recorded double-digit rebounds for the eighth time this season
>Hazzard has recorded a three-pointer in 15 straight games
>The Anteaters extended its winning streak against the Highlanders to nine 
> JC Butler finished with a career-high six points

UP NEXT
>UCI hits the road, traveling to UC Santa Barbara Thursday (Jan. 31) for an 8:00 p.m. game from the Thunderdome