RIVERSIDE, Calif. – UC Irvine dropped a 88-78 road contest at UC Riverside as the Highlanders knocked down 13 three-pointers on Saturday evening inside SRC Arena.
The Highlanders went 13-27 (.481) from three-point range in the contest, including a stretch late in the first half where they made eight of nine from long distance.
UCI was able to chip away at the start of the second half to cut the deficit to one point before four more three-pointers by the Highlanders pushed the margin back to 15.
The Anteaters drop to 6-7 in road contests and go 18-7 on the year and 11-2 in the Big West.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Guard Pierre Crockrell II and center Carter Welling paced the Anteater offense with 14 points each
> Crockrell II went 7-8 from the floor and dished out a team best five assists
> C. Welling knocked down a career-best two three-pointer while going a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line
> Guard Andre Henry went 4-8 from the floor, shooting 3-4 from three-point range, ending the night with 11 points
> Forward Dean Keeler tied the team lead of six rebounds
> UCI held the 32-24 advantage in the paint
> UC Riverside (10-15, 5-8) was led by Ben Griscti who went 10-14 from the floor, 6-10 from three-point range, to total 26 points, four rebounds, and three blocks
FIRST HALF
> Pierre Crockrell II contributed to the first four scoring plays for UC Irvine as he took the ball down the lane where the ball bounced off the rim in (18:20) before dishing out two dimes and closing it out with a turnaround fading jumper in the paint (14:23), 9-4
> After the Highlanders closed to 11-9, Hayden Welling had a free throw line jumper followed by Dylan Thoerner grabbing a rebound on one end for a score on the other to give the Anteaters a 15-9 lead at 11:28
> UC Riverside scored the next 11 points to move in front 20-15 (8:34)
> Following a UCR three-pointer which put the Highlanders up 25-18 (7:10), UCI scored four straight on a Carter Welling layup plus Crockrell II turnaround six-footer at 6:04, 25-20
> The Highlanders knocked down four more three-pointers on a 16-8 run to close the half with a 41-30 lead
> UC Riverside shot 8-14 (.571) from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes
SECOND HALF
> C. Welling drained his second three-pointer of the season to keep UCI within 10, 46-36, at 18:20
> UCI made a move with a 11-0 run using a Justin Hohn jumper and free throw, Devin Tillis back down layup, three Bent Leuchten free throws and a Henry three-pointer to close within one, 48-47 (13:31)
> UC Riverside responded with an 18-2 run, including four more three-pointers to open a 66-49 lead, 9:10
> Nine in a row by the Highlanders extended the lead to 20, 80-60, at 3:08
> A Derin Saran jumper would start a 7-0 streak for UCI to close 84-76Â with 22 seconds remaining
> UC Riverside ended the game with a pair of free throws, winning 88-78
NOTES
> The loss snaps a seven-game winning streak against the Highlanders
> 13 three-pointers are the most scored on the Anteaters this season
> The last time a team scored 80 or more points on UCI was UC Davis on Jan. 5, 2023 when UCI won 88-83
> Crockrell II is eighth in program history with 331 career assists. The fifth year is now 11 assists away from tying Aaron Fitzgerald (2004-06) for seventh
UP NEXT
UCI returns home to host Cal State Bakersfield next Saturday (Feb. 17) for a 7:00 p.m. game at the Bren Events Center.
