UC Irvine has 6 reach double figures, beats Whittier 112-65

Nov 30, 2017, 05:37 am

IRVINE, Calif. -- Evan Leonard and Tommy Rutherford scored 16 points apiece to lead six UC Irvine players in double figures and help the Anteaters beat Division III Whittier 112-65 on Wednesday night.

Eyassu Worku had 14 points and seven assists, John Edgar Jr. scored 12 points and Justin Wertner and Darrian Traylor added 11 apiece for UC Irvine (4-5). The Anteaters, who came in averaging 72.1 points per game with a previous season high of 91, shot 62 percent (41 of 66) from the field.

Worku hit a 3-pointer to make it 13-2, added another in a 7-0 run to open a 24-11 lead 8 1/2 minutes in and UC Irvine never trailed. Whittier trimmed its deficit to eight points on Victor Nwaba's layup with 2:09 left in the first half, but Edgar sandwiched a pair of layups around a 3-pointer by Traylor to make it 49-22 at the break. The Poets stayed within striking range until UC Irvine used a 20-0 break to lead 89-55 and Wertner converted a 3-point play to make it 109-60 with a minute left.

Nwaba had 13 points, Joey Toyama 12 and Nick Potthoff 11 for Whittier.