LAS VEGAS, Nev. --- UC Irvine fell into a deep hole behind 13 first half turnovers, but righted the ship with a strong second half showing to leave the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational with a split, 77-71, Friday morning over Northern Arizona in the Orleans Arena.

The 'Eaters (3-4) gave up the game's first 10 points turning the ball over on six of its first eight possessions as the Lumberjacks (0-6) took advantage charging out to a 13-point lead of 24-11 by the midway point of the first half. UCI found its handle as the half wore on trimming the deficit to 32-31 with two minutes left thanks to Elston Jones' efforts on five points and four rebounds, and even as NAU built a short run to end the half, UCI retained the momentum as a Lumberjack three-pointer at the buzzer was reversed to make the margin 37-31 with 20 minutes remaining.

After NAU dropped home the opening bucket, UC Irvine switched on the intensity on each end as Brandon Smith's exceptional weekend continued, and the energy was cranked up to holding the Lumberjacks without a field goal for over 12 minutes allowing the Anteaters to tie things up, 43-43, and passing up NAU clinging to a single-digit lead throughout the remainder of the contest until finally putting a seal on the game, 77-71.

"I'm pleased that we were able to win the game," expressed a relieved Head Coach Russell Turner. "It was a tough assignment playing so quickly after we lost last night."

UCI did play two games in a 15-hour span, not an easy taks for any squad, and it showed with the 'Eaters needing to overcome the slow start. The Anteaters were resilient and persevered to stop a three-game skid. The team also stopped a skid of allowing 90-plus points as they did with Arizona State and Rider allowing just 71 to Northern Arizona. They also locked up the Jacks' leading scorer, Torry Johnson, to three points and no buckets from the field while allowing a career high to Chris Bowling of 26 points and 19 from bench player JoJo Anderson.

"I'm searching for groups defensively that can function really well together, but all these experiences are good learning experiences for this young team. I've got belief that this group will end up really good, we've just got to stay at it."

The UC Irvine offense finished shooting 50% from the field led by 13 points from Eyassu Worku and 12 from Max Hazzard as the duo that scored double figures as part of seven Anteaters that finished with at least seven points. All 11 Anteaters that saw the court had points as the team's overcame 17 turnovers, a number that had doomed them in each of its four losses coming into the game.

"This team has character and it fights and it has heart I think that we've got a collective group of guys that want to be really good. I've got to have faith that if we do a good job as coaches and hold them to a high standard and accountability for all our players, w're going to keep getting better."

The heart and fight will be tested in just two days as UCI takes on its first ranked foe with a trip to No. 23 UCLa on Sunday. The lcaol rivalry is renewed for the first time since 2013 with a 3:00 p.m. start that will be broadcasted on the Pac-12 Network and available on KUCI 88.9 FM along with KLAA AM830.