FULLERTON, Calif. – Dawson Baker finished with a career-high 23 points as UC Irvine earned an 89-78 Big West win at Cal State Fullerton, Friday evening at Titan Gym.

UCI wins its second-straight Big West game to improve to 8-3 in the conference and 12-7 overall. CSF falls to 5-7 on the year and 4-7 in Big West action.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Baker's 23 points came from shooting 6-14 overall from the floor and 10-12 from the free throw line. He also dished out team-high four assists
> JC Butler finished with 14 points, four rebounds and two assists
> Collin Welp had his third double-double of the season behind 13 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. He also grabbed a career-high four steals and added a block
> DJ Davis also finished in double-digits with 11 points and three assists
> UCI shot 45.6 percent (31-68) from the field and held the Titans to just 37.7 percent (26-69) shooting overall
> The Anteaters outscored the Titans 48-22 in the paint, 30-6 in fast break points and 19-14 in points off turnovers
> UCI dominated the boards, 51-35
> Johnny Wang led CSF with 18 points, shooting 4-9 from long range

FIRST HALF
> Layups from Baker and Greene followed by a three from Jeron Artest gave the 'Eaters a 7-0 lead (16:44)
> Davis scored five-straight points in a 6-2 run for UCI to make it 15-7 at 11:28
> Back-to-back made three's from Baker and Lee gave the 'Eaters a 21-11 advantage at 10:14
> a 7-2 UCI run put the visitors up, 36-19, with 2:50 remaining. Justin Hohn made back-to-back layups in the stretch
> The 'Eaters rounded out the half with a layup from Butler and a jump shot from Isaiah Lee to take a 40-26 at intermission

SECOND HALF
> A Butler layup at 16:19 gave the 'Eaters their largest lead of the game, 49-29
> CSF went on a 13-4 run to make it an 11-point game, 53-42, with 13:09 remaining
> Welp slammed in a dunk at 10:48 before the Titans responded with a 9-2 run to make it 64-56 (9:12)
> CSF used a 10-2 run to knot the game, 71-71, with 5:06 remaining
> Welp and Davis made layups at 4:28 and 4:14, respectively, to start a 14-0  run for the 'Eaters that gave them an 85-71 lead with under a minute remaining
> Welp sealed the game with a three-pointer at 1:16 to give the 'Eaters an 89-78 victory

Quote from Head Coach Russell Turner
"I'm really proud of how we stayed in the game and were able to win it when things seemed to turn against us as strongly as they did. It is hard to win on the road and with a young team. We found a way to win and I am pleased with that. It was great to see Dawson Baker as assertive as he was and it was great to see JC Butler make as many plays as he did on the rim and on defense."

Notes: UCI has won six-straight against CSF and four-straight at Titan Gym … Welp got his eighth career double-double … Welp is six points away from 1,000 in his career

UP NEXT
> UCI concludes the series at CS Fullerton Saturday, Feb. 20 at 5 p.m.