IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine won the battle in the paint, defeating UC Davis 83-72 on Thursday night at the Bren Events Center.
Brad Greene recorded his second-straight double-double, scoring a team-high 17 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Greene leads the Big West conference with six double-doubles on the season.
The Anteaters (15-9), with their fourth-straight win, improve to 7-1 in conference play and remain atop the Big West standings. UC Davis falls to 3-5 in the Big West and 9-15 overall.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Collin Welp (13), Tommy Rutherford (12), and Evan Leonard (10) each scored in double-digits. Rutherford also added nine rebounds, narrowly missing his first double-double of the season
- Leonard paced the 'Eaters with six assists
- UCI held advantages in points in the paint (34-18) and assists (24-12)
- After getting out-rebounded in the first half 12-11, the Anteaters held a 26-14 advantage in the second half and 37-26 overall.
- UC Davis shot 16-19 (84.2%) from the free throw line, while the Anteaters were a season-low 56.3% (9-16).
- Elijah Pepper was the leading scorer for UC Davis scoring 12 points, while Stefan Gonzalez added 11.
TURNING POINTS
First Half
- The Aggies capitalized on three UCI turnovers to jump out to a quick 8-3 lead (18:10).
- A three-pointer from Jeron Artest and buckets from Worku and John Edgar Jr. would help the 'Eaters take their first lead of the game, 12-10, with 13:13 remaining.
- The Anteaters stayed hot, going on an 11-3 run and extending the lead to ten points, 23-13 (8:24). Leonard contributed five points to the streak, including a steal which he took the distance for a score.
- UC Davis continued to battle, using a pair of three-pointers to key a 9-2 run, cutting the Anteater lead to 25-22 with 5:49 to play.
- A layup by Rutherford and treys from Edgar Jr. and Welp helped the 'Eaters score eight of the final ten points in the half and extend the lead to 44-33 at the break.
- Artest scored nine points, surpassing his career-high in the first half alone.
Second Half
- Greene (7 pts) and Rutherford (6 pts) took control to begin the second half, leading the Anteaters on a 13-2 streak to push the lead to 20 points, 57-37, at 15:51.
- Five points from Matt Neufeld helped the Aggies counter with an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to 13 points, 63-50, with 12:05 to play.
- After a jumper from Welp extended the 'Eaters lead back to fifteen points, UC Davis used a 10-0 run to push within five points, 73-68, at 3:20.
- The Anteaters bounced back to score the next six points to regain a double-digit lead, and would not relinquish the advantage, locking down an 83-72 victory.
NOTES
- The Anteaters sweep the home-and-away series with the Aggies, and have won four-straight against UC Davis since Jan 2019.
- UC Irvine wins their 11th consecutive Big West home game.
- Six of the Anteaters seven conference wins have been by 10+ points.
UP NEXT
The Anteaters go back on the road to battle UC Santa Barbara on Saturday at 7pm on ESPNU.
