Henry's Career Night Pushes UCI Past New Mexico State

Saturday, November 11

Irvine, CA

7:00 PM

UC Irvine

1-1,0-0Big West

New Mexico State

1-2,0-0CUSA

Team	1	2	F
New Mexico St.	37	37	74
UC Irvine	49	42	91

Henry's Career Night Pushes UCI Past New Mexico State

November 11, 2023 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Jordan Kehoe

IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine downed New Mexico State, 91-74, in their home opening contest inside the Bren Events Center on Saturday night.

Senior Andre Henry had a career night with his 19 point showing while going 4-7 from three point range.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Redshirt junior Devin Tillis notched his first double-double of the season with a career best 18 points and 10 rebounds
Redshirt senior tallied 14 points on 5-9 shooting and a career high three steals
Freshman Derin Saran rounded out the double figure scoring with 10 points and three assists
Guard Pierre Crockrell II dished out a game best eight assists
Center Bent Leuchten poured in a career best three dimes
Forward Dean Keeler was a team leader off the glass with his seven rebounds
UCI won the rebounding battle 41-29
The Anteaters shot at a 0.500 clip or higher in both halves
New Mexico State was led by Robert Carpenter who recorded 18 points on 7-13 shooting, three rebounds, and two assists

FROM HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER
"I thought we had good energy and offensive success early. In general we showed some offensive improvement from our last game and I am pleased with that. A lot of guys came in and contributed to that."

"I have confidence that we have guys that can perform at a high level. I think all of these guys believe that they have a role to make a difference for the team every night."

FROM ANDRE HENRY
"I am just glad I could make a winning play for the team. Honestly, I trust my work. Some night might not be my night and that is okay. I got it going tonight and I want to keep this momentum going."

FIRST HALF – UCI 49, NM STATE 37
> New Mexico State took an early 4-0 lead before Devin Tillis got UC Irvine on the board at the 18:53 mark. Justin Hohn then took control with six of his eight first-half points sparking an 8-0 rally that put the Anteaters on top by six with 16:09 to play, 10-4
> The two teams proceeded to go back-and-forth until the Aggies scored seven unanswered points to go up, 19-18, with 10:04 remaining
> That lead was short-lived as Tillis drained a hook shot on UCI's next possession
> The 'Eaters kept the momentum, increasing their margin to 37-26 following a three-point play from Dean Keeler at the 5:46 mark
> UC Irvine stayed out front and took its largest lead of the half at 46-32 following five-straight points from Tillis
> Langston Redfield also hit a clutch triple with just over a minute remaining to maintain UCI's double-digit advantage at the break (49-37)

SECOND HALF – UCI 91, NM STATE 74
> The Anteaters started to heat up from beyond the arc early in the second half
> Over the first four-and-a-half minutes, Andre Henry knocked down two triples, while Tillis also connected from downtown to boost the 'Eaters to a 62-42 lead (15:38)
> UCI had some highlight plays including an acrobatic layup from Derin Saran and a deep three from Dylan Thoerner to hold a comfortable cushion at the 12-minute media timeout
> UC Irvine had an answer for every time New Mexico State tried to make a run, starting with a Tillis three-point play after back-to-back buckets from the Aggies
> Henry then followed with his fourth three of the night to make it 81-60 with 7:18 to go
> The Aggies finally started to make up some ground, outscoring the Anteaters 12-2 over the next five minutes to cut the deficit to 11, 81-60
> Henry put an end to the rally with a couple free throws and Hohn closed out the game with an and-one and a three-pointer to secure the 91-74 victory

UP NEXT
UC Irvine will make the short trip to Los Angeles to face No. 21/22 USC for an 8 p.m. showdown on Tuesday, Nov. 14.