Rutherford propels UC Irvine past Long Beach State 70-55

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) — Tommy Rutherford tallied 16 points and nine rebounds and UC Irvine breezed to a 70-55 victory over Long Beach State on Wednesday night.

Rutherford sank 4 of 5 shots from the floor and made 8 of 13 at the free-throw line for the Anteaters (18-10, 10-2 Big West Conference). Eyassu Worku and Evan Leonard scored 15 apiece, while Brad Greene snagged 11 rebounds to go with eight points.

Sophomore Michael Carter III scored 16 points off the bench for the Beach (9-18, 4-7). Reserve Jordan Roberts grabbed 10 rebounds.

UC Irvine led by just three points at halftime before outscoring Long Beach State 44-32 in the second half.

UC Irvine shot 45% from the floor but just 28% from beyond the arc (5 of 18). The Anteaters made 13 of 18 foul shots. Long Beach State shot just 34% overall and 26% from distance (5 of 19). The Beach hit 10 of 13 free throws.