IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine knocked down 11 three-pointers on its way to an 80-64 victory over UC San Diego in an exhibition game at the Bren Events Center Friday.
The Anteaters shot 50 percent from beyond the arc (11-22) and 49.2 percent from the floor overall (30-61). UCSD was 6-29 from long range (.207).
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Four Anteaters recorded double-digit points led by senior
Evan Leonard with 15 points, shooting 6-9 from the floor with three three-pointers
>Sophomore
Collin Welp shot 50 percent from the floor (4-8) for 12 points and just missed a double-double with a team-high nine rebounds
>Seniors
Eyassu Worku and
Tommy Rutherford each added 11 points. Worku had three assists and Rutherford had two blocks
>11 different Anteaters added at least two points
>Chris Hansen had a game-best 21 points for the Tritons with Tyrell Roberts contributing 15 points
TURNING POINTS
FIRST HALF
>With UCSD leading 4-3, UCI scored seven straight on baskets by Greener and Rutherford and a three-pointer by
John Edgar Jr. to open  a 10-4 advantage
>The Tritons would score four unanswered to narrow the margin to 14-11, but out of a timeout, UCI knocked down back-to-back three-pointers by Welp and
Devin Cole to expand the margin to 20-13 at 10:31
>A 7-2 spurt by San Diego kept the Tritons close 22-18 at 8:05
>With a 1:00 to go,
Aiden Krause hit a jumper to give UCI its largest lead 32-22
>The Tritons would score the final points of the half to give UCI a 32-27 lead heading in to the second half
SECOND HALF
>UCI hit consecutive three-pointers by Leonard and Edgar Jr. out of the locker room to force a quick UCSD timeout at 18:39 (38-27)
>Another trey by Edgar Jr. (17:46) and layups by Rutherford (17:10) and Leonard (16:47) moved the gap to 45-29
>UCSD would out-score the Anteaters 8-2 to close within 55-43 with 10:18 remaining
>A three-pointer by San Diego's Chris Hansen (53-62) was followed by a jumper by Worku and threes by Leonard and Welp (71-52) with 5:46 left
>Newcomer
Austin Johnson put in a layup with two seconds remaining for the 80-64 final score
NOTES
>UCI unveiled its 2019 NCAA Tournament and Big West Championship banners prior to the game
> UCI set a new student attendance record (2,038)
>Redshirt freshmen
Devin Cole and
Aiden Krause and true freshmen
Isaiah Lee,
Austin Johnson,
Jeron Artest,
Justin Hohn,
Ofure Ujadughele and
Dean Keeler all saw playing time
UP NEXT
>UCI opens the regular season on the road at the University of San Diego Tuesday (Nov. 5) at 7:00 p.m. from the Jenny Craig Pavilion
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