Irvine dominates 2nd half, sinks Northridge 74-68

Jan 20, 2019, 02:26 am

LOS ANGELES -- Eyassu Worku scored 17 points, Collin Welp and Max Hazzard combined for 25 of their 27 in the second half and UC Irvine erased an 18-point deficit to defeat Cal State Northridge 74-68 on Saturday.

Northridge made 7 of 10 3-pointers and shot 63 percent to race to a 47-31 lead at the half. When Lamine Diane opened the second half with a jumper the Matadors had their biggest lead.

Welp hit a 3-pointer and Hazzard scored the next five in a 10-0 run and the Anteater deficit was down to 55-52 midway through the second half. Irvine then secured the win with a 14-0 run in the final five minutes, capped by Worku's free throws that made it 74-65 with 15 seconds to play.

Evan Leonard also had 13 points for the Anteaters (15-5, 3-1 Big West Conference), who shot 50 percent in the second half and finished 11 of 25 from 3-point range. They also had 12 more points at the foul line.

Terrell Gomez and Diane had 21 points apiece and Rodney Henderson Jr. 18 for Northridge (8-12, 2-2), which made 2 of 10 from distance and shot 30 percent in the second half.