by By Sarah Zetlmeisl, UCIrvine
IRVINE, Calif. – Senior Evan Leonard became the 28th player in UCI history to record 1,000 points, but UC Irvine lost to California Baptist 68-60 at the Bren Events Center.
Leonard recorded 15 points, going 6-15 from the floor and 2-2 from the free throw line. The guard now has 1,007 career points.
UCI drops to 5-5 overall, losing their first home game this season. CBU improves to 5-4 overall.
The Anteaters shot a season-low 35.4 percent (23-65) from the floor and just 3-22 from beyond the arc. UCI was out-rebounded for the first time this season, 43-35.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Collin Welp went 7-11 from the floor to match Leonard for the team-high 15 points
>Tommy Rutherford had 11 points in 15 minutes of action
>Brad Greene (Shoshone/Paiute) recorded his third double-double of the season with 10 points and a team-best 10 rebounds
>California Baptist had four players in double-figures led by Milan Acquaah with a game-high 26 points. Glen Morison had a game-best 11 rebounds for the Lancers
>UCI held advantages in paint points (30-22), points off turnovers (15-4) and bench points (22-18)
TURNING POINTS
FIRST HALF
>Rutherford hit a baseline jumper and then a three-pointer to give UCI the 5-3 lead at 16:41
> A Welp jumper gave the Anteaters the 17-13 advantage at 9:35
>CBU would close to 19-17 (8:07) before Rutherford hit a pair of free throws at 7:16
>The Lancers would go on a 9-2 run to take a 26-23 lead at 4:41
>UCI would momentarily take the lead back on a Welp bucket, 31-29 (2:14) before the Lancers would close the half on an 8-4 spurt to take a 39-33 lead in to the half
SECOND HALF
>CBU would score the first three out of the half to take a 42-33 advantage
>The Lancer lead grew to 10 (48-38) on back-to-back three-pointers by Reed Nottage (14:54) and Ferron Flavors (14:23)
>Leonard would hit a baseline layup to break the 1,000th point plateau at 10:10
>A steal and lapyup from Leonard at 7:33 and a rebound put-back by Rutherford (7:02) sparked an 8-3 run to close the gap to 60-57
>CBU answered with the next six points to extend the lead back to 66-57 at 2:36
>The Lancers would never relinquish the lead and go on to win 68-60
NOTES
>UCI is 1-4 this season when trailing at halftime
>UCI snaps an eight-game home winning streak which dated back to Jan. 16, 2019
>The loss snaps the ‘Eaters three-game winning streak against the Lancers
>Leonard extended his streak at the free throw line to 12-12
UP NEXT
>UCI will take final exams this week and return to action next Saturday against Pacific Union. Tip-off is 7:00 p.m.
