SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – UC Irvine won its second-straight Big West regular season title after defeating Cal Poly, 82-76, at Mott Athletics Center, Thursday night.

The win marks the first time in program history that UCI won the regular season crown outright for two-consecutive years. The 'Eaters have won at least a share of the title six times before. UCI's seniors Evan Leonard, Eyassu Worku, Tommy Rutherford, John Edgar Jr. and RS-junior Brad Greene have won three titles in four years.

The Anteaters got their 20^th win of the season, making it the seventh time in eight seasons and 11^th overall that UCI has earned 20 or more wins. The 'Eaters improve to 20-10 on the season and 12-2 in conference play.

Cal Poly falls to 7-21 overall and 4-10 in Big West play.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Leonard finished with a season and game-high 22 points, going 4-7 from long range and 7-10 from the floor overall. He also added three assists
> Worku shot 6-11 overall, finishing with 18 points and five assists while Rutherford added 16 points
> Greene swatted a career-high seven blocks
> Edgar Jr. led the team with six rebounds
> UCI shot 64.0 percent (32-50) overall from the floor and went 7-15 (.467) from beyond the arc
> The Anteaters held a 32-26 edge in rebounds and out-scored the Mustangs 36-26 in the paint
> Colby Rogers and Junior Ballard led Cal Poly with 13 points apiece

First Half
> Worku made back-to-back three pointers to put UCI up by nine, 18-9, with 12:26 remaining
> Cal Poly used a 12-4 run to come within one, 24-23, with 7:47 left to play
> The Mustangs went up by three, 33-30, at 4:19
> UCI responded with a 10-0 run to take a 40-33 lead with just over a minute remaining. Rutherford capped the stretch with a layup
> Cal Poly made a layup in the final minute as the 'Eaters headed to the locker rooms with a 40-35 lead
> Worku led all scorers with 10 points

Second Half
> A Leonard layup started a 7-0 run for the 'Eaters that put them up 54-47 with 14:33 remaining
> UCI used a 9-4 run to extend its lead by double-digits, 73-62, with 4:13 to play
> A jumper from Welp at 3:27 put the 'Eaters up by 12, 75-63
> The Mustangs whittled down UCI's lead to three, 77-74, with under a minute remaining but Worku and Leonard each made a pair of free throws down the stretch to secure the 82-76 victory

Up Next
> UCI hosts UC Santa Barbara in a sold out Homecoming game Saturday, Feb 29 at 7 p.m. on ESPN3.

Notes: UCI clinched back to back Big West regular season titles outright for the first time in program history … The Anteaters will be the No. 1 seed at the Big West Tournament … UCI won its fifth-straight game, marking the longest streak of the season … UCI is 4-0 when scoring 80 points or more ... Head coach Russell Turner won his fifth Big West regular season Championship