IRVINE, Calif. -- Bent Leuchten had a career-high 20 points to lead UC Irvine to a 79-64 non-conference victory over Loyola Marymount University Tuesday evening at the Bren Events Center.  
 
Leuchten went 7-8 from the floor, including 2-2 from three. The sophomore, who recorded 13 of his points in the second half, added four rebounds and a block in 22 minutes of action. 
 
The Anteaters, who are receiving votes in the AP Top 25 Poll, improve to 3-0 on the season.  
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Guard Dawson Baker would score 19 points, going 7-15 from the field and 4-4 from the line
>Guard DJ Davis would hit 3-9 from three-point range and 4-4 from the stripe to end with 15 points
>Four made shots at the line is a season high for Davis, continuing his perfect streak of 8-8
>Sophomore Andre Henry had a season-high six points
>Devin Tillis would lead the team on the glass, grabbing six rebounds
>Dean Keeler posted another season high four rebounds following his four at Oregon
>The 'Eaters who are ranked 29^th in the country in three-point defense held the Lions to only 3-21 (14.3%) from behind the arc
>LMU was led by Cam Shelton with 18 points
 
HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER SAID
"It is good to win a game like this in this moment of our schedule. We had to gut up and make some plays in the second half to secure the win, but I thought the story of the game was how we wore them down in the first half. I thought our second unit was dominate defensively and played great offense too."
 
FIRST HALF
>Bent Leuchten put up the game's first points on a jumper at 19:22, 2-0
>LMU would score the next five to move in front at 17:17, 5-2
>DJ Davis would tie the game at 7-7 on a pull up jumper at 16:17
>The Lions would lead 13-7 before UCI would score 13 unanswered on a pair of baskets by JC Butler, a jumper by Andre Henry, two jumpers plus a free throw by Dawson Baker and a three-pointer up top by Leuchten to open a 21-13 advantage at 10:25
> The Anteaters went on a 14-point run while holding the Lions scoreless in 5:03 before the media timeout at 10:18
> Leuchten would hit another from long distance followed two more from beyond the arc by Davis to extend the lead to 30-17 at 7:37
>Davis would find Justin Hohn streaking down the paint for a lay-in (4:55) then Ofure Ujadughele had a steal at one end and would take it in for a layup at the other to lead 36-19 at 4:41
> UC Irvine played strong defense only allowing the Lions to score once on their last nine field goal attempts
>Henry would score four in a row on a layup and two free throws, 40-21 (2:34)
> Leuchten would score the final three points of the half to take a 45-25 lead into the break 
 
SECOND HALF
>A layup by Leuchten and a three-pointer by Devin Tillis put the Anteaters up 53-33 (16:19) before LMU scored 12 unanswered at 13:05, 53-43
>Hohn would hit a three-pointer with three seconds on the shot clock to stop the momentum at 12:08 (56-43)
>In between LMU baskets, Pierre Crockrell II would knock down a baseline jumper (9:37), 58-45
>Davis would feed Leuchten underneath for a layup at 8:09 to keep the double-digit advantage, 60-47
>The Lions went on a 6-2 run, but Baker answered with a three-pointer at 4:44, 69-55
>Four more by LMU narrowed the margin to 10 (69-59) at 3:36 then Leuchten had a layup and was fouled, making the free throw on the next trip down the court, 72-59 (3:21)
>Following a LMU layup, Baker drove down the lane and hit a floater and drew a block. He made the free throw at 2:00 (75-61)
>A steal by Crockrell II led to a Baker layup with 46 seconds to go, 77-64
>A Baker layup and two Davis free throws ended the scoring, 79-64 
 
 NOTES
>UCI improves to 13-12 all-time against the Lions
>Crockrell II had a team-high four assists
>Baker posts his third double-digit scoring game
>Baker and Davis are the only two Anteaters who remain perfect at the charity stripe
>UCI outscored LMU in points from turnovers, second chances, fast breaks, and off the bench
>This marked Davis' sixth consecutive game with a three-point basket continuing on from his streak started at the end of last season, Hohn improves to five in a row
>The Anteaters posted their third double digit win of the season, second over Division I programs
 
UP NEXT
UCI will face another WCC opponent, Pepperdine, on the road Saturday Nov. 19 at 5:00 p.m. at Firestone Fieldhouse.