UC Irvine uses a 46-20 start to rout Life Pacific, 87-53

IRVINE, Calif. -- Collin Welp and Robert Cartwright each scored 15 points and UC Irvine built a 26-point halftime lead and cruised to an 87-53 rout of NAIA Life Pacific on Monday night to win its third straight game to start the season.

Welp, the redshirt freshman son of former University of Washington Pac-10 Player of the Year Christian Welp, came off the bench to hit 6 of 9 shots from the field, including a 3-pointer, grab eight rebounds and collect a pair of steals.

The Anteaters led by double digits in the first five minutes and pushed it to 20 by the midway point of the first half. By halftime UC Irvine led 46-20.

Irvine shot 29 of 53 from the field (54.7 percent), including 7 of 18 from distance. The Anteaters were just 22 of 35 from the line (62.9 percent).

Chez Lister led Life Pacific with 15 points.