IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine earned a decisive 85-53 victory over San Diego Saturday afternoon at the Bren Events Center.

UCI concludes its non-conference schedule with a 3-4 overall record. USD drops to 1-3 on the season.

The 'Eaters came out gunning from the start, leading the entire 40 minutes and going up by as much as 36 points in the second half. UCI did not allow USD to score more than five points in a row while the 'Eaters went on a 10-point scoring run in the first half.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Collin Welp led UCI with 16 points on 7-12 scoring from the floor. Isaiah Lee finished with a career-high 11 points while Dawson Baker added 10
> Brad Greene grabbed a game-high nine rebounds while Lee dished out a game-best six assists
> UCI dominated the boards, 44-21, and outscored USD 17-3 on second chance points, 42-18 on points in the paint and 10-2 in fast break points
> The Anteaters shot 51.6 percent (33-64) from the floor overall and held the Toreros to just 34 percent (16-47) shooting overall. UCI was 7-18 (.389) from long range
> Joey Calcaterra led USD with 14 points and four rebounds

First Half
> UCI opened on a 10-2 run which was capped by a Baker three-pointer at 17:20. Lee also had five points in the stretch
> A layup from Tshimanga started a 6-0 run which put the 'Eaters up by double-digits, 20-7, at 12:40
> Andre Henry made a jumper followed by a three to start a 10-0 run for UCI that made it a 20-point game, 30-10, with 4:21 to play
> UCI kept the pressure on as Austin Johnson and Welp each made a jumper to give the 'Eaters a 34-15 lead the half

Second Half
> USD cut the UCI lead to 16 at 15:23 with two made free throws from Vladimir Pinchuk
> The Anteaters answered with a 12-2 run to put them up by 25, 58-33 with 11:21 remaining
> A three-pointer from Lee started a 7-0 run for the 'Eaters to extend their lead, 69-37, with 7:46 to play
> UCI's largest lead of the night came with 4:34 to play when Henry made a fast break layup in the paint
> Two made free throws from Ofure Ujadughele at 1:16 capped the scoring for UCI

Quote from Russell Turner
"This was the kind of game I want to be able to expect from my team. I thought we were good offensively early on tonight and defensively we looked like a UC Irvine team, committed and played with a lot of intensity and effort. I am pleased with the win and really proud of our guys."

Quote from Isaiah Lee
"It was a good team win tonight. Tonight was a good confidence boost for me and I think overall tonight was a good confidence boost for all of us and this game really changed our mood and we are confident going into Big West play on Dec. 27."

Up Next
> UCI will open Big West Conference play with two home games against UC Santa Barbara (Dec. 27-28)

Notes: UCI improves to 3-0 at home this season ... UCI earned its first D1 win ... UCI had the 15th hardest non-conference schedule in the nation ... The Anteaters tie the all-time series with USD 14-14