IRVINE, Calif. – Andre Henry poured in 23 points in UC Irvine's 73-66 victory over UC Riverside in the Big West opener Thursday at the Bren Events Center.Â
Henry led the way going 7-9 from the floor and 7-8 from the line, while adding two rebounds and an assist in 28 minutes of action. The guard went 2-3 from long distance, with one sealing the victory with eight seconds remaining. Â
UCI went 19-25 from the line and shot 43.9 percent from the floor (25-57) to improve to 8-5 overall and 1-0 in the Big West.Â
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Forward Carter Welling had 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots
> Forward Devin Tillis posted his second double-double of the season, recording 10 points and team-best 10 rebounds
> Guard Justin Hohn shot 4-8 from the field, including two three-pointers for 13 points
> Guard Pierre Crockrell II dished out a game best seven assists and stole the ball three times
> Forward Dean Keeler came off the bench to grab seven rebounds
> UCI held a 42-36 advantage in rebounds and 6-1 in blocks
> Ben Griscti led the Highlanders with 18 points on the strength of five three-pointers
FROM HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER
"I am super proud of the effort tonight. It is a good conference against a team that played well against us. I give Riverside credit for the trouble we had at times during the game. They were competitive and tough like we knew they would be and we did enough to win. There is a different intensity in conference games and a different familiarity as well."
"Tonight Andre (Henry) really stepped up. Offensively, I think Pierre (Crockrell II) really controlled the game and that created so many baskets for us. Carter (Welling) and Dean (Keeler) defensively were really effective. Carter was also outstanding offensively even though he missed a couple of shots right at the rim, but it has been interesting to see his improvement. Watching Devin (Tillis) get to his best shot and convert an and-1 right there, that was a big play. Great win."
FROM ANDRE HENRY
"I saw that he (C. Welling) picked up his dribble and that he didn't really have anywhere to go. Our coaches teach us to find the open area and I got a lucky bounce. I just trusted my work tonight. The belief the coaches and my teammates have in me helped to set me up easily. When you have a point guard like Pierre (Crockrell II), it is amazing."
FIRST HALF
> Carter Welling had the first basket of the game then after going up high for a defensive rebound, he bounced down the paint for a layup to give UCI an early 7-2 lead at 17:53
> The Highlanders responded by going on a 10-4 run to take their first lead at 11:38, 12-11 Â Â
> Justin Hohn scored eight in a row for the Anteaters, draining a pair of three-pointers, the first one ignited by a Ofure Ujadughele steal in a 10-2 spurt by UCI to go up 28-21 at 4:52
> UCR knotted the game at 28-28 (3:26) after scoring seven straight points
> Devin Tillis drove down the lane for a fingertip roll-in before a C. Welling block led to a driving layup by Andre Henry just before the buzzer to send UCI into the break with a 37-31 leadÂ
SECOND HALF
> Pierre Crockrell II fed Henry on a fast break before swiping a pass in the key for the drive down the court finding Henry again, this time for a three up top, 50-41 (15:37)
> A Derin Saran layup and a Henry jumper followed to extend the UCI lead to 54-41 at 14:37 Â
> Hohn sent a pass across the lane to C. Welling for a dunk plus two Henry free throws helped the Anteaters to a 61-50 advantage at 8:12
> UC Riverside's Ben Griscti nailed back-to-back three-pointers to draw UCR within 67-64
> Tillis battled his way the basket for a layup to stop the Highlander momentum, 69-64 (1:25)
> The Highlanders made it a three-point game with their layup at 0:35, 69-66
> UCI inbounded the ball with 17.6 seconds left in the game and nine seconds on the shot clock. After two passes, C. Welling gave up the ball to Henry who would hit an off-balance three on the edge of the court with one second left on the shot clock and eight on the game clock. Henry drew the foul on the shot and made it a four-point play, 73-66
> UCR could not make its final two attempts as time ran out  Â
NOTES
> UCI has won its last six conference openers
> The Anteaters scored 40 points in the paint to UCR's 22 making it the fifth contest this season where UCI has scored 40 or more points in the paint
> C. Welling and Keeler are tied for fifth in the league for blocks per game (1.3) after their multi-block performances in the win
UP NEXT
UCI goes on the road to Cal State Bakersfield this Saturday (Dec. 30) for a 7:00 p.m. tip.Â
