LOGAN, Utah --- A defensive skirmish slipped through UC Irvine's hands in a 62-59 loss Wednesday night against Utah State in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

The Anteaters (4-7) rallied to erase a first-half deficit with a fervent run to start the second half. The 'Eaters held a lead as large as 45-41 as the squads jockeyed for position down the final stretch of the game with each team frequenting the free throw line.

Utah State began to pull away holding a five-point lead as the teams hit the final media timeout at 2:01 left to go. UCI closed to deficit to one point with 13.3 seconds to go, and Eyassu Worku drove the lane looking for the go-ahead, but it was off and USU hauled in the rebound and would stretch the lead back out to three points with one final possession for the 'Eaters with 5.7 seconds on the clock.

After a timeout was called with 1.1 seconds left to set up the final possession across the timeline, Tommy Rutherford was called upon to take the game-tying three in the corner, but it hit the the back iron leaving the 'Eaters three points short in the 62-59.loss.

"It was a good college basketball game," applauded head coach Russell Turner. "It came down to the wire, and we would have taken that coming into the game."

The lead never exceeded 10 points on the evening in the 'Eaters' closest final score margin on the season for UCI, and returned to its defensive roots holding Utah State to 62 points as each team shot an identical 36.2% in the game.

"We learned a lot about ourselves, and we've still got a long way to go, but I'm pleased with the defensive performance of our team. I thought that we showed what I expect us to be able to show against a good team in a tough environment defensively. We didn't shoot the ball well enough to win, and some of the credit there has to go to Utah State."

Evan Leonard led the 'Eaters with 12 points on the night followed up by Max Hazzard with 10 points, all in the first half, but the 'Eaters were shutout from the field for the final 4:35 of game action. The highlights came on the defensive side forcing USU into many bad shots and possessions holding Aggie star Koby McEwen to 1-of-11 from the field and nine points, and leading scorer Sam Merrill finished with 13 points, but just one bucket in the second half.

Jonathan Galloway returned to a familiar form leading the Anteaters with 11 rebounds and had three blocked shots. Elston Jones held his own in his return to Utah State where he spent the first two years of his collegiate career with five points and six boards helped by a productive 3-of-4 from the line in the game.

"I think we're going to get better, that was my message to the team. We showed progress tonight."

The progress did not show up in the win column where UC Irvine falls to 4-7 on the season, but it will have a chance to turn it around as the trip continues on to the southern tip of Texas to the city of Edinburg and the UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros awaiting as the teams matchup on Saturday, Dec. 9 for a 5:00 p.m. tip in a first-ever meeting between the programs.