IRVINE, Calif. – The difference was the free throw line in UC Irvine's 65-63 loss to Cal State Fullerton at the Bren Events Center Thursday.
 
The Titans, the Big West leader from the line, were 22-28 from the stripe (78.6%), while the Anteaters made just three trips, hitting two. CSUF made more free throws than they made field goals (21-51). UCI entered the game second in the nation in fewest fouls, but matched their season-high with 21.
 
UCI shot 45.8 percent from the floor (27-59), hitting 7-19 three-pointers.  The Titans struggled from long range (1-13).
 
UCI returns to action Saturday (Jan. 22), traveling to Long Beach State for a 1:00 p.m. tip. The game time was changed when it became the "Big West Game of the Week," being broadcast live on Spectrum SportsNet.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>DJ Davis had a season-high 19 points, knocking down 5-8 from beyond the arc. Five threes ties his career-high
>Collin Welp went 7-11 from the floor and ended with 15 points
>Austin Johnson led the team in rebounding with nine boards to go with five blocks and eight points
>Guard Justin Hohn added seven points, while Bent Leuchten was 3-3 from the floor for six points
>UCI held the conference's leading scorer EJ Anosike below his season average with 16. He was 4-12 from the floor and 8-10 from the line. He pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds
>A trio of other Titans ended in double-digit scoring: Damari Milstead (12), Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (13) and Jalen Harris (10)
 
FIRST HALF
>Both teams started slowly before Justin Hohn recorded UCI's first two baskets, the last a driving baseline layup at 16:33, 4-4
>CSUF would lead by four then Bent Leuchten went to work down low scoring a pair of baskets in between a Titan basket to close the gap to 10-12 at 12:38
>The Titans would score the next five until DJ Davis hit a three-pointer from the left corner at 10:03 (13-18)
>Leuchten had a rebound putback to stop UCI's three minute scoring drought at 4:54 (19-25)
>A layup by Austin Joshnon (2:16) and another Davis three (1:09) was followed by a jumper by Cal State Fullerton's Damari Milstead with five seconds remaining to end the half with the Titans leading 33-24
>The Anteaters never made trip to the free throw line, while the Titans were 10-12

SECOND HALF
>Three-pointers by Hohn (19:27) and Collin Welp (18:31) bookended a Fullerton trey, 30-36
>Dawson Baker had a tough turnaround jumper (9:00) and two free throws (8:14) to keep the Anteaters close, 43-50
>Davis had a layup down the lane (5:53) that was followed by a spinning layup by Welp at 5:33, 51-55  
>Davis drained back-to-back three-pointers to give the Anteaters a 57-55 advantage (4:19), their first lead since the 16:50 mark of the first half
>The Titans scored the next three points to regain the lead at 3:22
>Austin Johnson had a layup at 2:58 (58-59) before Cal State would answer with baskets by Jalen Harris and EJ Anosike, 62-59
>Welp hit a jumper with 27 second remaining to cut the deficit back to one (61-62)
>CSUF would make two free throws and call timeout, helping UCI run a play for Austin Johnson in the paint (63-64) with nine ticks left
>UCI was forced to foul, sending Jalen Harris to the line where he gave UCI life making the first but missing the second with six seconds left
>Davis drove to the basket but the shot bounced off, preserving the Titans' 65-63 victory

UCI HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER
"Fullerton is a good team, give credit to them. Hopefully tough times will make us tougher."

"We don't have the defensive grit at the rim right now. Offensively we need to get to the rim and finish shots at the rim, I think we have multiple players that can do that"

NOTES
>UCI goes to 6-6 overall and 1-2 in the Big West. CSUF remains undefeated in Big West action (4-0) and improves to 10-5 overall
>UCI suffers its first loss at home this season (4-1)
>It was the first game in the Bren Events Center since Dec. 3, 2021
>It is the second time this season Johnson has swatted five blocks
>Welp climbed to a tie for 10^th all-time in scoring, matching assistant coach Alex Young with 1,324 points
 
UP NEXT
Long Beach State has implemented a new limited attendance policy if you were planning on traveling to The Pyramid to watch the Anteaters and Beach play on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.