TUCSON, Ariz. --- UC Irvine was in position for over 30 minutes to pull the upset over No. 2 Arizona before a late scoring spree carried the Wildcats past the Anteaters, 71-54, before 14,655 at the McKale Center in Tucson Wednesday night.
UCI, which led 29-26 at halftime, took a 46-41 lead with 10:30 left in the game lead on a layup by Mike Best before Arizona went on a 30-8 run to close the game.
The Wildcats (3-0) went on a 15-0 spurt over a period of just over five minutes to gain a 56-46 lead on a basket by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson with 4:51 remaining.
Back-to-back baskets by Luke Nelson and Alex Young pulled the Anteaters (2-1) to within 58-50 with 3:59 left, but a 7-0 run by Arizona over the next 2:41 closed the door.
Nelson and Travis Souza led UCI with 11 points each and Nelson had a game-high six assists.
Mamadou Ndiaye, the Anteaters' 7-6 sophomore center, had nine points and five rebounds while Young scored eight points and added three assists.
Hollis-Jefferson led the Wildcats with 19 points, hitting 11 of 13 free throws. T.J. McConnell scored 12 points, Brandon Ashley 11 and Stanley Johnson added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
UCI shot 37 percent from the field and Arizona 39.6 percent. The Wildcats' bench outscored UCI's 24-8.
The 'Eaters and Arizona had a back-and-forth first half before UCI forged ahead 26-25 on a pair of free throws by Ndiaye with 1:54 left in the opening 20 minutes.
UCI led for the first 12 minutes of the second half before two free throws by Hollis-Jefferson with 7:53 remaining gave the Wildcats the lead for good.
This was just the second meeting in the series, as Arizona topped UCI, 93-70 in Tucson Dec. 14, 1998, in the initial meeting.
Arizona was the highest-ranked team that UCI had faced since losing at top-ranked UNLV, 114-86, Feb. 23, 1991.
Wednesday was nine years to the day since the Anteaters had last beaten a ranked team, as UCI topped 13th-ranked Stanford, 79-63, on the road Nov. 19, 2005.
"I'm proud of my team, but Arizona's size and physicality was a factor down the stretch, UCI head coach Russell Turner said.
"I told the guys that for 30 minutes, we won, but we have to be better in the final 10 minutes.
"I do believe that we are going to get better," he added.
UCI travels to Saint Mary's for a 6:00 p.m. game Sunday in Moraga.
Sunday's meeting with the Gaels will be the first in 12 years between the schools. The 'Eaters have won the last five meetings and lead the series 5-3.
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