IRVINE, Calif. – Five Anteaters scored in double-figures as UC Irvine men's basketball hit the century mark with a 100-41 win over La Verne, Tuesday at the Bren Events Center.

UCI improves to 2-1 on the season while La Verne drops to 0-3.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> JC Butler led the way with a career-high 18 points on 9-13 shooting from the floor
> Justin Hohn also hit a new career-high with 12 points while Collin Welp finished with 11
> Freshman Bent Leuchten had career-best 10 points while Emmanuel Tshimanga also finished with 10 points
> Ofure Ujadughele picked up a game-high seven rebounds and he also dished out a career-best five assists
> UCI shot a season-best 66.7 percent (44-66) from the floor overall and 40 percent (4-10) from long range
> The Anteaters out-rebounded the Leopards, 40-23, and held an 80-18 in paint points
> La Verne was led by John Malone and Isaiah Knox with eight points each

First Half
> Austin Johnson had a hook shot followed by a dunk while Welp knocked in a layup as UCI led, 6-4, at the first media timeout
> Tshimanga made a layup to start a 7-0 run for the 'Eaters that was capped with a Leuchten layup at 10:48 to give UCI a double-digit, 20-9, lead
> Butler scored six-consecutive points to start a 13-0 run that put the Anteaters up by 22, 33-11, with 6:27 remaining
> UCI closed the half on a 15-2 run as Hohn scored seven points while Leuchten had four down the stretch. The Anteaters went into the locker room with a 50-15 lead

Second Half
> La Verne started the second half on a 6-4 run before a DJ Davis three-pointer made it 57-21 with 17:40 remaining
> A Butler driving layup began an 8-0 run for the 'Eaters that made it 69-28 with 13:06 to play
> Butler made three-straight layups as UCI extended its lead, 91-37, with 5:53 remaining
> Hunter Ruck made a layup at 3:29 to start a 7-0 run for the Anteaters. Ujadughele made a driving layup followed by two made free throws form Leuchten at 56 seconds. Isaiah Lee hit a three-pointer with 34 seconds remaining to put the 'Eaters in triple-digits, 100-41

Notes: The last time UCI had five players in double-digits was Dec. 2, 2020 against La Sierra … It was also the last time UCI hit the 100-point mark … Every Anteater that saw the court tonight scored at least two points … UCI improves to 4-0 in the all-time series

Quote from head coach Russell Turner
"We knew when we scheduled this game that we should win this game and we really used tonight to try to get better. We tried to get better with our offensive execution and in some ways we accomplished that tonight and that is what we expected to see. I thought our defensive execution was pretty good. I got to see a lot of guys play tonight and a lot of different combinations. We know we have talent on this team and a lot of guys got some important minutes."

UP NEXT
UCI hosts Pepperdine Saturday, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. at the Bren Events Center