IRVINE, Calif. – Harvard out-lasted UC Irvine 62-57 in the final non-conference game at the Bren Events Center on Tuesday.

Bent Leuchten led the Anteaters with 15 points and eight rebounds. The center was 5-9 from the floor with one three-pointer and 4-6 from the line.

UCI went a season low 2-14 from three-point distance, while Harvard was 4-22.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Guard Dawson Baker had 11 points and two steals
>Baker's two steals marks a new season high while matching his season best 15 field goal attempts
>Forward Devin Tillis matched Leuchten with eight rebounds to go with 10 points on 5-9 shooting
>Center Leuchten posted career highs in blocks (4), field goal attempts (9), free throws made (4), and free throw attempts (6)
>Guard DJ Davis did not score a point for only the second time in his career, the last on Dec. 17, 2020
>Senior Pierre Crockrell II and redshirt junior Justin Hohn co-led the team with three dimes each
>Andre Henry blocked his fourth shot of the season and added seven points in 14 minutes
>The Anteaters won the battle in the paint, outscoring Harvard by 10
>Harvard was led by Chris Ledlum who recorded 18 points on 8-16 shooting

HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER SAID
"Credit to Harvard. They were physical, aggressive and they sped us up early which made us miss a lot of shots we usually make in the first half. We fought hard to guard, but it seemed like we wanted someone else to get the ball and that is not something this team has shown much of at this point."

FIRST HALF
>Pierre Crockrell II drove to the baseline for a layup to put UCI up 4-0 just before Harvard scored 11 unanswered points, including two three-pointers, to jump ahead 11-4 (13:37)
>At the first media timeout both teams struggled from the floor with UCI going 2-7 (28.6%) and Harvard going 1-5 (20%)
> UCI used an Andre Henry jumper (13:15), a Chazz Hutchinson layup from a Justin Hohn pass (12:26) and a Dawson Baker teardrop to close the gap to 10-11 at 9:24
>The UCI defense came alive and held Harvard scoreless for almost 5:30 before Justice Ajogbor had a layup at 8:51, 13-10
>Two free throws by Baker (7:57) and one by Hutchison (7:33) tied the score at 13 all
>The two squads would battle back and forth never getting farther than four as Henry would knock down a pair of free throws (1:04)
>The UCI defense would not let the Crimson score in the final minute to send UCI into the half trailing 24-26
>UCI's 24 points are the fewest in the first half so far this season

SECOND HALF
>Devin Tillis started the second period with a shot in the paint (19:44) to knot the game 26 all
>Bent Leuchten scored seven consecutive points starting with a pair of free throws (18:56), a battle down low at the post (18:01) and would close his scoring run by knocking down a three-point jumper (16:40), 33-35
>Baker would make a fall away jumper with the defense all over him to tie the score at 35-35 at 16:06
>After a 5-0 run by Harvard, Baker stole the ball and dish to Crockrell II who would sprint down for a driving layup at 14:33, 37-40
>The Crimson scored six straight to go up 46-37 at 11:23
>Henry completed the three-point play off his hanging layup and made free throw to keep UCI close, 42-48 (8:45)
>Tillis would spin past the defender to get to the hoop at 6:10 and then have a rebound tip-back at 5:28, 48-53
>Trailing 48-55, Leuchten hit two free throws before the UCI defense forced a stop where Hohn would push the ball up the court to Baker who would take it strong to the basket at 4:09
>After making the free throw (52-55), Harvard had a baseline layup at 1:07 followed by a Leuchten layup with 47 seconds left (55-57)
>The Anteaters could not convert on a 1-and-1 and were forced to foul Sam Silverstein who made both free throws with 15 seconds left to put Harvard in front 59-55
>Baker drove down the lane for a layup with eight seconds remaining (57-59)
>UCI fouled Silverstein again who made the first but missed the second and Harvard came down with the rebound. Forced to foul, Evan Nelson stepped to the line with 5.5 on the clock and hit both, 62-57 for the final score

NOTES
>UCI closes out non-conference action with a 7-5 record
>Baker has recorded double-digit points in seven consecutive games
>Andre Henry and Baker both went perfect (3-3) at the charity stripe
>Both UCI and Harvard made 22 field goals, marking the second consecutive game where the Anteaters have made the same amount of field goals as their opponent
>UCI is 0-3 when trailing at the half

UP NEXT
The team will take some time off for the holidays and return to action on Jan. 31 opening Big West play at CSU Bakersfield. Tip is set for 1:00 p.m.