RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Collin Welp took over the second half to lead UC Irvine to a 68-51 victory over UC Riverside in the Big West opener at the SRC Arena. 

Welp went 1-7 from the field in the first half then was unconscious in the second, hitting 10-10 from the floor and 5-5 from the line to end the night with 30 points, one shy of his career-high. 

Austin Johnson was also impressive with a season-high 16 points.

UCI's defense held the Highlanders to just 22 second half points as UCR missed 16 of their final 17 three-pointers. The 22 points in a half are the lowest total allowed by the Anteater defense against a Division I opponent this season.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Welp's 30-point game is the second of his career joining a 31-point game vs. Eastern Michigan in 2019
>Welp's 25 second-half points fell four short of the program record of 29 set by Scott Brooks and equalled by Ross Schrader
>Welp also led the team with eight rebounds
>Welp made all eight free throws in the game and has made his last 17 foul shots
>Three Anteaters finished with double figures which has happened in each game this year thanks to Welp's 30, Johnson's 16, and 10 from Justin Hohn
>Welp scored eight straight points in the second half and had nine of UCI's points in a row shortly afterward accounting for 17 points in a 21-8 second-half run
>Guard DJ Davis had a career-best six rebounds to go with six points, four assists and two steals
  
FIRST HALF
>UC Riverside jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead at 17:10
>The Anteaters would score their first bucket on a three as the shot clock was running out by Justin Hohn at 16:05 (9-3)
>Another three by Hohn (14:59) and an old fashioned three-point play by Collin Welp (14.19) helped cut into the Highlander lead, 14-9
>Following a UCR basket, UCI scored eight straight to take its first lead of the game. DJ Davis drained one from deep then Austin Johnson had a soft jumper in the paint and a pair of free throws followed by a free throw by Isaiah Lee, 17-16 at 9:15
>The teams would remain close the rest of the way with Johnson putting in a floating jump shot with 35 seconds left to end the half, UC Riverside 29, UCI 28 

SECOND HALF
>Johnson continued his nice game, scoring the Anteaters first two baskets of the half before Welp went up high for a rebound tip-in at 18:26 to put UCI ahead 34-31
>The Highlanders would score five unanswered to regain the lead, 36-34 (15:36)
>Welp would then take over scoring three consecutive baskets and hitting a pair of free throws to give the Anteaters a 42-36 lead at12:24
>Welp would continue to put on a clinic hitting his eighth shot in eight attempts in the second half at 6:50 (55-41)
>After Welp's ninth shot went in, Davis had an ankle-breaking step back three-pointer to increase the UCI lead to 62-47 and force a UCR timeout at 3:43   
>Welp continued with a turnaround fall away jumper from 17 feet at 2:54 (64-49)
>Following a UCR bucket, Johnson had two free throws (1:09) before fittingly Welp ended the scoring with two more free throws with 32 seconds left, 68-51

HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER SAID
"Our defense ended up being a dominant factor. We spotted them 9 to nothing. The offensive performances of not just Collin, but Austin Johnson. Austin got our second half started in a confidence boosting way." 

"I give Collin the credit for the turnaround in this game. He responded how a veteran captain should. It was fun to watch him rain those jumpers in." 
 
COLLIN WELP SAID
"I'm just part of a team. Coming off a break with only a week to prepare we started slow but I'm proud of the guys for fighting it out." 
 
NOTES
>UCI played for the first time in 18 days
>4-1 in Big West openers since 2017-18
>Austin Johnson led all players with two blocks
>The team shot 82.4% from the line, its second game shooting over 80% on the season
>UCI shot 59.3% in the second half to have their highest-shooting road game since February of 2020 finishing at 51%
>Welp jumped to 13th all-time in scoring for UCI surpassing Evan Leonard, Jeff Von Lutzow, Eric Wise, and Eyassu Worku on the evening and now two points shy of 1,300 in his career
 
UP NEXT
UCI returns home to host UC San Diego Tuesday (Jan. 11) for a 7:00 p.m. game at the Bren Events Center.