UC Irvine stays atop Big West, beats UC Riverside 82-64

Jan 27, 2019, 05:15 am

IRVINE, Calif. -- Senior Elston Jones scored a career-high 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds to help UC Irvine beat UC Riverside 82-64 on Saturday night.

Max Hazzard and Jonathan Galloway added 11 points each and Tommy Rutherford scored 10 for the Anteaters (17-5, 5-1 Big West), who stayed atop the conference standings.

Galloway had 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.

UC Irvine took the lead for good at 11-10 on Galloway's layup with 15:19 left in the first half. That basket sparked a 21-7 run for a 13-point lead and the Anteaters later led by 15 before the end of the half. They extended to their largest lead of the game after an 18-6 run made it 82-55.

The Highlanders (8-14, 2-4) closed the game on a 9-0 run.

Dikymbe Martin had 16 points, Dominick Pickett scored 12 and Callum McRae had 10 points and 10 rebounds for UC Riverside.