Brad Greene (Shoshone/Paiute) recorded his fifth double-double of the season, scoring a career-high 18 points while adding 12 boards

by Sarah Zetlmeisl UC Irvine Sports

IRVINE, Calif. –— UC Irvine used a strong shooting performance to defeat Cal State Fullerton, 91-61, on Saturday night at the Bren Events Center.

UCI (14-9) improves to 6-1 in the Big West and maintains their grip on the top spot in the conference. Cal State Fullerton falls to 3-5 in conference play and 8-15 overall.

The Anteaters had four players reach double-digit scoring, shooting 32-56 (57.1%) from the field overall. They also made a season-high 7-11 (63.6%) from beyond the arc, while going 20-21 (95.2%) from the line, including converting on their first 19 free-throw attempts.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Brad Greene (Shoshone/Paiute) recorded his fifth double-double of the season, scoring a career-high 18 points while adding 12 boards and four blocks.
• Tommy Rutherford tied Greene for the team-lead with 18 points on 5-6 shooting from the field and a perfect 8-8 at the line.
• Also scoring in double-digits were Evan Leonard and Eyassu Worku, with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Worku also dished out a team leading six assists.
• The Anteaters out-rebounded the Titans by more than double, 41-20.
• Brandon Kamga and Jackson Rowe provided the offense for Cal State Fullerton, tying for the team lead with 18 points each.

TURNING POINTS
FIRST HALF

• Greene scored the first six points of the game for UCI, helping the Anteaters jump out to a quick 11-2 lead at 16:59.
• A trey from John Edgar Jr. extended the ‘Eaters lead to ten, 14-4, with 15:37 remaining.
• The Titans cut the UCI lead to 14-11 with a 7-0 run capped by a three-pointer from Jackson Rowe (12:51).
• Collin Welp scored five-straight points for UC Irvine as part of an 11-0 run that helped the ‘Eaters re-claim a double-digit lead, 27-14, at 7:50.
• Following a Rutherford jumper, Leonard drilled a three to extend the Anteater’s advantage to 16 points, 36-20, at 5:20.
• Isaiah Lee and Worku each hit three-pointers with less than a minute remaining, lifting the ‘Eaters to a 54-34 lead going to the half.
• Greene tied for the lead in points (12) with Rutherford, while adding seven rebounds.

SECOND HALF

• The Titans used a 7-2 run out of the break to cut their deficit to 59-43 at 15:44.
• Five different Anteaters contributed points to an 11-2 run capped by a trey from Jeron Artest which put UCI ahead 74-47 with 9:23 remaining.
• After Brandon Kamga made back-to-back threes for the Titans, the ‘Eaters responded with a 6-0 streak to go ahead by 27 points, 82-55, with 5:57 remaining.
• Edgar Jr. slammed down a pass from Artest with eight seconds remaining to put an exclamation point on a 30-point, 91-61, victory.