BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – UC Irvine (8-5, 1-0) put the exclamation point on 2022 with a 79-75 victory on the road at CSU Bakersfield (4-9, 0-2).

The Anteaters scored 46 points in the second half to overcome the six-point deficit at the half to earn Head Coach Russell Turner his 250^th career win.

UCI broke a 28-year old school record in free throw attempts, shooting 51 from the line (30 made). The previous record of 49 (33 made) was set on January 27, 1994 against rival Long Beach State.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Guard Dawson Baker had 17 points and eight rebounds in an explosive second half effort
>Baker shot a career best 15 from the line while making a season high eight
>Forward Devin Tillis brought down a game high nine boards with a career high 15 point showing
>Center Bent Leuchten was consistent from start to finish, putting up 16 points on 6-7 shooting from the field and eight rebounds
>Leuchten tied his career high four made free throws and set a new high with eight attempts from the stripe
>Guard Justin Hohn added 11 points on 3-6 shooting, making 2-3 from behind the arc
>Junior DJ Davis rounded out the double-figure UCI scores with 10 points, earning five points from the charity stripe
>Guard Pierre Crockrell II dished out a team high five assists in the contest
>Big men Dean Keeler and Leuchten each tallied two blocks
>The Anteaters won the battle in the paint and fast breaks, outscoring CSUB by 12 and eight respectively
>CSU Bakersfield was led by Antavion Collum who recorded 20 points on 9-21 shooting and seven rebounds

FIRST HALF
>Bent Leuchten answered the CSU Bakersfield basket at 19:41 by completing the three-point play at 18:51, 3-2
>Devin Tillis would be fouled on his way up to the rim and made both attempts at the line at 17:34 and dropped one in on a lay-up on the following possession, 7-9 (16:44)
>CSUB went on a 6-2 run that was halted at 13:19 when JC Butler drove to the hoop for the lay-in and Andre Henry's turnaround jumper (12:26) to keep UCI within seven, 13-20
>Leuchten completed his second three-point play of the game at 10:34 and Tillis would follow with a two-pointer on the next possession and a second-chance basket at 5:50, 20-26
>The Roadrunners would jet out by as much as 11 twice (2:14, 1:09), 26-37
>Justin Hohn did not get on the board until late in the first half starting with a made free throw at 2:33 before scoring eight more off a layup from an Ofure Ujadughele steal (1:20), and two three-pointers (0:48, 0:00), 33-39
>Hohn's half court buzzer beater shot would prove to be the Anteaters momentum shift in the contest

SECOND HALF
>UCI would force a turnover and two CSU Bakersfield players to foul to keep the ball for the first 57 seconds in the period
>Leuchten and Tillis would team up again in the beginning of the second stanza to cut the margin to one, 38-39 (18:26)
>Dawson Baker knocked down a pair of free throws at 17:10 for the Anteaters first lead of the day since the 18:51 mark in the first period, 40-39
>The 'Runners responded with a mid-range jumper and Tillis answered with a shot from behind the arc (16:36), 43-41
>UCI scored their next three points off free throws and CSUB would tie it up at 46 all (15:02)
>Pierre Crockrell II nailed a turnaround jumper to keep UCI close, 48-51 (13:25)
>DJ Davis found offensive energy to score five points on two consecutive drives with a three-point jump shot (11:42) and a floating shot on the fast break (11:04), 53-51
>The Anteaters led by five at 8:26 after Davis and Baker made both of their free throw attempts, 60-55
>After a scoreless 2:03 minutes, Baker would score his 13^th and 14^th points of the game on a fast break lay-in along with the and-one shot from the stripe, 67-59 (4:15)
>The 'Eaters final basket of the game came off Baker's jump shot from range (1:38), 74-61
>UCI shot free throws the rest of the way where Davis tied the previous school record of 49 attempts with five seconds remaining with Leuchten setting new heights in the final second, 79-75

NOTES
>This win marks 250 career wins for Head Coach Russell Turner, all won at UC Irvine
>The 'Eaters improve to a 22-13 record on Big West opening day, their fifth consecutive win in league starts
>UCI have won three straight over CSU Bakersfield
>The last four contests between the Anteaters and the Roadrunners have been decided by five points or fewer
>Baker has recorded double-digit points in eight consecutive games
>Davis tied his career best eight free throw attempts which was previously set in December 2021
>Leuchten has blocked multiple shots in each of the last two games
>Tillis set new career highs in points (15), free throws made (6), and free throw attempts (8)
>For the third time this season, five Anteaters recorded double-digit scoring efforts
>Both UCI and CSUB went 5-11 (0.455) in three-pointers
>UCI earns their first win when they trailed at the half, 1-3

UP NEXT
UC Irvine will continue their road stretch on Thursday, Jan. 5^th where they will face UC Davis. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.