LAS VEGAS, Nev. – UC Irvine's lockdown defensive effort fueled a 78-61 win over UC Riverside in the Big West Tournament semifinals, Friday night at Michelob ULTRA Arena.

UCI will appear in its ninth tournament final, fourth-consecutive. The Anteaters are the defending Big West Champions.

The 'Eaters improve to 18-8 on the season. The Highlanders end their season with a 14-8 record.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Dawson Baker and Collin Welp each finished with a team-leading 17 points. Baker was 5-6 shooting from the field and made 6-7 free throws. Welp went 11-13 from the charity stripe and also added two assists, six rebounds and two steals
> DJ Davis also finished in double-figures with 14 points
> Brad Greene led the 'Eaters with seven rebounds and three blocks
> UCI shot 46 percent (23-50) from the field and made 26 of 30 free throw attempts (.867). The Anteaters held the Highlanders to 34.4 percent (21-61) shooting from the field and just 20.7 percent (6-29) from long range
> UCI held advantages in blocks (5-1), rebounds (32-26), fast break points (17-6) and bench points (22-12)
> UCR was led by Arinze Chidom and Jock Perry with 16 points each

FIRST HALF
> UCI opened with a 9-0 run (17:21) followed by a Baker three-pointer that put the 'Eaters up by 14, 18-4, with 13:21 remaining
> UCR responded with a 6-0 run to make it 18-11 at 11:30
> A layup from Isaiah Lee and a jumper from Austin Johnson gave UCI a 25-15 lead with 7:28 to play
> A Davis three followed by two made free throws from Welp made it 34-22 (3:09)
> Johnson blocked a shot on the defensive end and Davis would hit a three with 52 seconds remaining to give the 'Eaters a 13-point, 41-28, lead at the half  

SECOND HALF
> Jeron Artest came out and hit a three pointer at 19:50 before Chidom responded with three for UCR to make it, 44-37, with 16:51
> Artest would hit another three (16:26) to start an 8-0 UCI run that put the 'Eaters up, 52-37 (15:07)
> A 6-2 UCR run brought the Highlanders within 10, 64-54, with 5:33 to play
> UCR made it a nine-point game, 67-58, with 3:40 remaining after a layup from George Willborn III but a Lee three-pointer with 2:27 remaining put the game on ice, 72-58
> UCI made 6 of its 8 free throw attempts down the stretch to seal the 78-61 victory

QUOTE FROM HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER
"This was a good college basketball game for our program. I thought we really came out and executed well on both offense and defense. It might have been our best game of the year and it came at a critical moment, when it's not easy to play well. This team has answered the challenges that I have given them and we have earned the opportunity to play against a really talented UC Santa Barbara team tomorrow. I also want to give credit to UC Riverside for an outstanding year."

NOTES
UCI has not trailed in a Big West Tournament game this season … UCI seeks to become the first program to win back-to-back tournament titles since UCSB in 2010-2011 … UCI improves to 6-0 all-time against UCR in the BWT ... The Anteaters are riding a season-high six game win streak 

UP NEXT
No. 2 UCI will face No. 1 UCSB in the Big West Tournament Championship game tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. The winner will earn the Big West's auto bid to the 2021 NCAA Tournament