Box Score
FULLERTON, Calif. --- UC Irvine sustained its first loss of the season Thursday as Boise State defeated the Anteaters, 71-64, in the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy at Titan Gym in Fullerton.
UCI was looking to equal the program's best start in 33 years when the 1982-83 team opened the season 5-0, but the Broncos hit 11 of 28 threes Thursday to drop the 'Eaters to 4-1 overall.
Senior guard Alex Young led UCI with 15 points and five assists while junior guard Luke Nelson added 13 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Junior post Ioannis Dimakopoulos had 10 points and five boards, and freshman forward Brandon Smith scored six points.
Anthony Drmic led Boise State (3-2) with 21 points, Nick Duncan scored 14 and Chandler Hutchison 13.
The 'Eaters jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first six minutes before the Broncos began to find the range and UCI trailed at halftime for the first time this season as Boise State went up 30-27 at intermission on a three by Drmic just before time expired.
The Broncos led the entire second half, going up by as many as nine at 44-35 on a three from Duncan with 13:26 remaining.
The 'Eaters closed to within one at 48-47 following a pair of free throws by Young with 9:56 left, but a basket by David Wacker and a three from Drmic extended Boise State's lead to 53-47 with 9:03 remaining.
UCI reduced the deficit to four on several occasions, the last at 62-58 on a free throw from Young with 2:26 left, but Duncan hit two foul shots and James Webb III canned a jumper to give the Broncos a 66-58 lead.
Both teams shot 44 percent from the field and Boise State won the battle of the boards, 36-31. UCI committed 15 turnovers to the Broncos' 16.
"I congratulate Boise State for a hard-fought win," UCI head coach Russell Turner said. "They're a good team and their style of play won out over ours today. We allowed them to make 11 threes, which is something we knew could beat us and we give them credit for doing things well enough to win.
"We're disappointed to lose, but we know we have a big game tomorrow, we're thankful for the team we have, and we're looking forward to the opportunity to compete tomorrow."
UCI faces Boston College Friday at 12:00 p.m. (ESPN3) at Titan Gym. There are no games Saturday with action moving to the Honda Center in Anaheim Sunday.
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