LONG BEACH, Calif. -- UC Irvine exploded out of the gate and went on to a 72-61 victory over Long Beach State in a Black & Blue Rivalry game at the Walter Pyramid on Thursday evening. 

The Anteaters led 41-24 at the half behind five three-pointers and a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line. The defense locked down LBSU, recording three blocks and six steals, while holding The Beach without a field goal for just under nine minutes of action. 

Forward Dylan Thoerner had his best performance in a Big West game, posting 13 points on 4-9 shooting from the floor, including three three-pointers. 

Guard Pierre Crockell II had his third double-double of the season, dishing a game-high 11 assists to go with 12 points. He logged his name in the UCI career record book at 10^th in career assists with 302 passing Patrick Rembert (2007-11) in just 55 games at UCI.

Guard Andre Henry matched Crockrell II with 12 points, knocking down four from long distance. The senior was tied for team-best with six rebounds. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Freshman Carter Welling swatted a career-high five blocks and scored eight points while going 6-7 from the line
> C. Welling, Henry, and Devin Tillis brought down a team-high six rebounds
> Center Bent Leuchten shot 0.500 from the floor (3-6) and 2-2 from the line for nine points, while grabbing five boards
> Tillis and Justin Hohn each recorded eight points in the victory
> UCI shot 0.413 from the floor (26-63) and missed just one free throw on the night, 12-13 (0.923)
> The Anteaters hit eight three-pointers to The Beach's five
> Long Beach State (12-8, 4-4) held a slight 39-37 advantage in rebounds and blocked 10 shots
> The Beach, who led the league in offensive scoring at 80.1 points entering the game, were held to 61 points on 20-61 (0.328) shooting from the field and 16-24 from the line (0.667)
 > Long Beach State was led by Marcus Tsohonis with 15 points on 3-13 (0.231) shooting from the field with three three-pointers

FROM HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER
"It is satisfying to perform well and get a win especially after our last performance to be able to do what we weren't able to do on the road. I am especially proud of Dylan Thoerner of how good he is and how much of a difference he can make like he did tonight. I know he is a difference maker and I believe in his combination of competitiveness, experience, intelligence, shot-making ability, and toughness to fight, defend, and rebound.

"Pierre (Crockrell II) was outstanding by just controlling the offense I thought. He had a really strong defensive performance that I could feel that it frustrated Long Beach State. That is a credit to our team, preparation, and our staff. It is hard to measure how important it is for a basketball team to have confidence in somebody that can control the ball against any sort of pressure that we see. I think he [Pierre Crockrell II] is doing everything he can to help our program win and I really admire him for that and the impact he has on this group."

"He [Carter Welling] was phenomenal. He just showed hunger for the ball off the glass and as a shot blocker. It is a talent. I am happy for him and proud of him for making his free throws."

FROM DYLAN THOERNER
"It was super fun. Our coaches got us prepared to be set for this game because we knew what they were going to do. We executed when we came out from the jump with great energy so I think that was a great start for us. We had a few guys out and we were all on edge. Coach always says 'next man up' and it was a great team effort."

"I think it is all about staying consistent. Every practice I keep shooting and everyone like my coaches and teammates tell me to keep shooting, so they give me the confidence. Whether I make or miss, I keep doing the same thing no matter if I am on a hot streak or cold streak. I trust all the work that I put in and it helps my guys."

FIRST HALF
> A Pierre Crockrell II layup and a pair of Bent Leuchten free throws got the scoring going, 4-0 (17:54)
> UCI out-scored LBSU 8-2 on the strength of back-to-back three-pointers by Andre Henry, 12-5 (15:56)
> Following a five-point spurt from the Beach, UCI answered with six of their own - a Crockrell II jumper, Dylan Thoerner layup and Carter Welling jumper to go up 18-10 (12:45)
> After Leuchten had a layup from an inbound pass, Thoerner knocked down another three (9:41). Following, Crockrell II found a streaking Leuchten who recorded two points on a Long Beach State goaltend, 28-13 at 9:10
> Henry drained a three-pointer then C. Welling had two from the stripe to give the Anteaters a 20-point advantage at 4:35, 37-17
> Stingy Anteater defense held LBSU without a field goal for 8:50 and which saw The Beach miss nine straight field goals before Marcus Tsohonis had a three-pointer
> C. Welling had a two-handed stuff on the Long Beach end which led to a Ofure Ujadughele layup, 41-22 with 52 seconds left
> A jumper by LBSU's Messiah Thompson with 40 seconds left would be the final basket of the half as UCI held a 41-24 lead at the break
> 18 of UCI's first half points came from the bench, including 10 by Thoerner
> Long Beach State shot 8-32 (0.250) from the floor and 6-7 from the line 

SECOND HALF
> The teams matched baskets before UCI strung two offensive plays together with a Tillis jumper and Crockrell II stopping and popping at 15:04, 52-31
> Thoerner was left all alone in front of the Anteater bench and made Long Beach pay as he drained the three-pointer at 13:14, 55-33
> The Beach would score eight in a row to close to 55-41 (10:56)
> LBSU crept within 12 before Justin Hohn had a jumper and layup to stop the momentum and put the Anteaters on top 61-45 with 7:42 remaining  
> Long Beach State cut it to 12 once again only to watch a Henry three and Tillis layup go in, 66-49 (6:00)
> After entering the top 10 in UCI career assists, Crockrell II took the ball himself with a jumper and layup forcing a LBSU timeout at 3:57, 70-52
> Long Beach State scored seven in a row to creep to 11 at 2:18 until Hohn had a pair of free throws at 1:09, 72-59
> LBSU had a basket with 23 seconds remaining to end the game, 72-61 

NOTES
> UC Irvine improves to 14-6 overall and 7-1 in the Big West, tied for first place
> UCI is the first team in the Big West to reach 14 overall wins
> The Anteaters move to 9-0 in their white uniforms
> LBSU's 24 halftime points is tied for the third lowest this season by an opponent
> UCI scored 18 points off 18 Beach turnovers
> The Anteaters have won seven of the last eight outings 

UP NEXT
UCI returns home to host CSUN Saturday (Jan. 27) for a 7:00 p.m. tip at the Bren Events Center.