IRVINE, Calif. – A trio of seniors led UC Irvine to a 70-55 victory over Long Beach State in a Black & Blue Rivalry game at the Bren Events Center Wednesday.

With the win, UCI improves to 18-10 overall and 10-2 in the Big West, clinching a spot in the Big West Tournament. Long Beach goes to 9-18 on the year and 4-6 in league play.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Senior Tommy Rutherford recorded a team-high 16 points and was just shy of a double-double with nine rebounds. The forward went 4-5 from the floor and 8-13 from the line
>Senior guards Eyassu Worku (7-13 FG) and Evan Leonard (6-9 FG) poured in 15 points and three assists each
>Center Brad Greene added eight points and game-best 11 rebounds
>Senior John Edgar Jr. pitched in five points, three assists, two rebounds and a steal
>UCI shot 44.8 percent from the floor (25-58), while LBSU was 33.9 (20-59). Each team hit five three-pointers
>Michael Carter III topped The Beach with 16 points
>UCI out-scored LBSU 34-22 in the paint and 15-5 off turnovers

TURNING POINTS
FIRST HALF
>Both teams were slow to start with the first basket scored by Worku at 18:21 and that was quickly followed by a steal and layup by Leonard (18:05), 4-0
>The Beach would finally get on the board at 16:27 on a jumper by Chance Hunter, 4-2
>After an Edgar Jr. three-pointer, LBSU would score four unanswered to knot the score at 8-8 (14:02)
>UCI responded with a strip and layup by Worku (13:37), a trey by Isaiah Lee (13:04) and pair of free throws and layup by Leonard (12:06, 9:51), 17-8
>A six-minute Long Beach drought was quickly ended on a back-to-back three-pointers by Max de Geest (8:34) and Michael Carter (8:04) to close to 17-14
>With the Anteaters' lead cut to 20-19, Worku ignited the crowd, draining a three (5:39) and laying the ball through traffic (5:07), 25-21
>A LBSU layup and a free throw by Rutherford closed out the half with the Anteaters on top 26-23
>LBSU's 23 points is the lowest in the first half against the Anteaters this season

SECOND HALF
>UCI came out of the break on fire, scoring 10 quick points on a dunk, lay up and free throw by Rutherford, a three-pointer by Leonard, and a dunk by Greene, taking a 36-23 advantage with 17:49 remaining
>Three consecutive buckets by The Beach narrowed the lead to 47-38 with 11:03 left
>UCI responded with a rebound put-back by Rutherford (10:20) and a streaking layup by Worku (10:20) to increase the gap to 51-38
>A 9-0 LBSU run made the game tight (56-49) with 4:21 to play
>Rutherford backed the LBSU player down and a jump hook ended the momentum at 3:59
>The Anteaters would hold Long Beach to six points the rest of the way for the 70-55 final

NOTES
>UCI, who ranks second nationally in rebound margin, held a 40-36 advantage on the boards
>The Anteaters have won eight consecutive home games and the last 12 Big West games at the Bren
>Rutherford cracked into UCI's top-10 rebounds list with 670 career boards
>Devin Cole made his return to the court after missing the last 11 games

UP NEXT
>UCI travels up the 405 freeway to second-place CSUN Saturday (Feb. 22) for a 7:00 p.m. game at the Matadome