UC Irvine downs UC Riverside 62-52 behind Leonard's 18 PTs

Feb 11, 2018, 04:51 am

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Evan Leonard scored 18 points and Tommy Rutherford scored 15 and UC Irvine beat UC Riverside 62-52 on Saturday night.

Eyassu Worku added 10 points and Jonathan Galloway grabbed 11 rebounds for the Anteaters (13-14, 8-3 Big West).

UC Irvine sprinted to a 10-2 lead before the Highlanders countered with an 11-1 run when Chance Murray made a pair of 3-pointers and a jump shot. The Anteaters responded with a 9-0 run and led the rest of the way.

A 29-22 halftime lead became a 38-26 lead on Elston Jones' jumper with 16:30 left. DJ Sylvester scored 8 of 12 points for the Highlanders during a stretch where they closed to 44-41. Dikymbe Martin's 3 made it 46-44 but UC Irvine couldn't get closer.

Sylvester led UC Riverside (6-18, 1-9) with 12 points and Murray and Martin each scored 11. The Highlander shot 17 of 54 (31.5 percent) including 3 of 16 from beyond the free throw line.

The two combined for a total of 44 personal fouls and 40 turnovers.