Edgar Jr., Rutherford help UC Irvine beat Hawaii 66-57

Feb 25, 2018, 07:15 am

HONOLULU -- Evan Leonard had 19 points and John Edgar Jr. scored nine of his 14 points in the second half to help UC Irvine pull away late for a 66-57 win over Hawaii on Saturday night.

Leonard made 6 of 11 from the field, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range and Edgar grabbed eight rebounds. Tommy Rutherford added 12 points for Irvine (16-15, 11-4 Big West).

Brad Greene hit back-to-back jumpers to spark an 11-0 run that gave the Anteaters a 20-9 lead midway through the first half and Hawaii trailed the rest of the way. Sheriff Drammeh hit a jumper to pull the Rainbow Warriors within two points with 12 minutes to play, but Edgar answered with a 3 as Irvine scored 14 of the next 18 points to push its lead into double figures until the closing seconds. Hawaii went more than 5 1/2 minutes without a field goal in the second half.

Drew Buggs led the Rainbow Warriors (16-11, 7-7) with 11 points and Drammeh scored 10.

The Anteaters are alone atop the conference standings, a half-game ahead of UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis.