SAN JOSE, Calif. – After a strong start in the second half, the Anteaters dropped 72-64 to San Jose State in their season opener.

UC Irvine shot at a 0.418 clip (23-55) in the contest but could not get a shot to fall from deep as only two fell in the game (2-12).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Center Bent Leuchten led the scoring for the Anteaters behind his 14-point performance
> Forward Devin Tillis posted double digit numbers with 12 points on perfect 4-4 shooting from the charity stripe
> Guards Justin Hohn and Derin Saran each added eight points
> Guard Pierre Crockrell II dished out five of the 'Eaters 11 assists
> Guard Langston Redfield tallied the lone block for UCI in the contest
> Leuchten and Andre Henry both brought down a game best six boards
> 38 of UC Irvine's points were scored in the paint
> Trey Anderson led San Jose State with 19 points on 7-9 shooting from the field and three makes from the line

FROM HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER
"We got beat by a better, tougher team tonight. We played some pretty good defense in the first half but could not put it together on both ends. We need to be tougher, hungrier, execute better, and more together."

FIRST HALF – UCI 24, SJSU 24
> Justin Hohn got the scoring started with a triple before Devin Tillis stopped San Jose State's 7-0 run to trail 7-5, 15:52
>Derin Saran jumped on the board to cut the deficit to two when he received the ball on a back cut, 9-7 (15:00)
>Saran handled the scoring until Pierre Crockrell II made a basket in the paint at 9:06. UCI fought their way back as Akiva McBirney-Griffin muscled his way to the basket for the quick lead, 17-16 (4:42)
>UC Irvine went on a 6-2 run that saw a tear drop from Saran to avoid the block and then hustling to the other end of the floor coming up with the denial. Andre Henry tied the game with his mid-range jumper, 24-24
>Tillis released a shot as time in the half was expiring to give the Anteaters the lead, but it was not in time

SECOND HALF – UCI 64, SJSU 72
> Both squads exchanged leads and baskets until the Spartans went on 8-0 run over two minutes of action that was halted by a Hohn triple, 36-32
> San Jose State scored nine unanswered points in a 90 second span to jut their lead to 13 at 12:12. Bent Leuchten scored seven straight points for the Anteaters to help cut the deficit, 50-44 (10:01)  
> Tillis and Dean Keeler would team up for the next UCI spurt, pouring in three makes from the line, two straight lay-ups for Tillis (6:50, 6:23) before he found Keeler under the basket at 5:47, 57-53
> Leuchten grabbed his own rebound for the putback at 4:02 before receiving the dish from Henry for a dunk (3:36), 64-58  
> Crockrell II and Henry made baskets in the final 46 seconds of the contest, but it was not enough as the Anteaters dropped to SJSU, 72-64

UP NEXT
UC Irvine is set to have their home opener on Saturday Nov. 11 against New Mexico State. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.