BOISE, Idaho --- A rejuvenated Anteater squad commanded a 69-57 win Thursday night over a burly Idaho team in the Holiday Hoops Classic played in CenturyLink Arena.

A defacto home game for the Idaho Vandals (8-4) added to the already daunting road stretch for the 'Eaters, but UC Irvine (5-10) did not let that affect them stepping up early as both squads tussled for the early advantage.

Neither defense let the other side get more than four points ahead through the first 15 minutes of action before Elston Jones and John Edgar Jr. put in back-to-back buckets for a 28-22 edge with 4:17 left in the first half. Jones converted another bucket down the stretch, and Edgar Jr. rose up to flush home a putback just as the horn sounded to lead the team into the half with that six-point edge, 34-28, and a team-high 10 points.

The second half boat was tossed about early on as UC Irvine took on water with just four points through the first 10 minutes of the period, but the defense bailed out water to keep the 'Eaters afloat and in the lead as Idaho's shooting was equally as stagnant The Vandals crept back to tie the game at 38-38 with 10:39 left in the half, and again knotted things at 52-52 with just 5:03 to play, but each time the Anteaters hopped to two-possession leads captained by Evan Leonard who poured in 16 second half points including clutch shooting from the line going 8-of-9 to separated the 'Eaters late.

Vandal star Victor Sanders hit his only three of the night with 37 seconds left to cut the Anteater advantage to 63-59, but UCI held firm scoring the final four points of the game from the line and keeping Idaho under the 60-point threshold complete a pivotal road win, 67-59.

Leonard finished with a career high 20 points with a bulk from the line while hitting shots at key moments, and broke the drought becoming UCI's first 20-point scorer on the season. Eyassu Worku and John Edgar Jr. rang in 12 points of their own. Max Hazzard and Elston Jones each contributed with three assists as well. Idaho's scorers never caught a rhythm as Sanders finished with 17 and the rest of his posse Brayon Blake (11), Perrion Callandret (10), and Nate Sherwood (7) were each held under their averages.

The defense for the 'Eaters stood tall as Jonathan Galloway reeled in 13 rebounds and blocked two shots to go along with two points. The most poignant stat was UCI with just nine turnovers in the contest and forcing 11 from Idaho with help from four steals.

"We did play hard tonight, and showed resilience and toughness that I've expected from this program," boomed a resounding head coach Russell Turner after the effort. "I think it helped us that we were the opposite of that in our last game. I think the guys owned that and saw that and I thought we grew some."

The mentality adjustment made the difference for UC Irvine which stopped a five-game slide and avoided what would have been coach Turner's longest losing streak in his tenure. On the flip-side, it extends the program's streak to seven straight seasons of winning in the final game before Christmas.

The game played in front of 4,096 in a heavily-Idaho crowd never grew wider than a six-point gap until UC Irvine's eight-point margin that ended up as the final score. UC Irvine also held court throughout the rest of the contest leading for over three-quarters of the contest in which the score was tied seven times and the lead changed hands six times.

"Tonight we showed the resilience and toughness that going to be required in order to compete for a championship in our conference. To this point, I don't think we had shown enough of that. We hadn't shown the ability to respond like a good team through adverse stretches of a game. Tonight we did that in a really good college basketball environment. This was a high-level game that we were able to win so I feel good about that. I like tonight that we showed confidence and aggressiveness down the stretch, that's important for this group."

The win for the 'Eaters brings the program to 5-10 overall and 2-1 on a neutral floor as it finishes off its 12th and final game away from home of the non-conference ledger that has taken them over 11,000 miles. One final non-conference test remains in a battle in the Bren Events Center on Thursday, Dec. 21 against New Mexico State commencing and 7:00 p.m. and can be heard on KLAA AM 830.