IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine's electric offense earned them the 70-59 victory over UC Santa Barbara inside The Thunderdome. 
 
The Anteaters improve to 18-8 overall and 11-3 in the Big West. Handing UCSB their third conference loss, the two squads share a spot for first place in the league.
 
Guard DJ Davis poured in a 25-point performance, his fifth 20+ point effort this season. Davis shot 8-16 from the floor, 3-7 from long range, and a perfect 6-6 at the line.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Dawson Baker scored 14 points to go along with six rebounds and two assists
>Forward Devin Tillis grabbed a game high 10 boards, his third double-figure rebounding effort this season
>Bent Leuchten scored eight points and went perfect at the charity stripe (4-4)
>Guard Pierre Crockrell II dished out three assists in the contest
>UC Irvine out-rebounded the Gauchos 38-26
>UC Santa Barbara's Ajay Mitchell had 25 points, recording 8-14 from the floor, 2-2 from three-point range, and 7-8 from the line 
 
FROM HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER
"Really pleased to come on the road and show the toughness and grit to defend the way we did in the second half. A lot of guys contributed in that and that has got to be how we do it. It was a good win and was satisfying for a group of guys who work hard."
 
"DJ was terrific, and I expect that from him in big games and big moments. He has a knack for making shots late in the shot clock or in the half."
 
FIRST HALF
>Dawson Baker and DJ Davis accounted for UCI first eight points, the last was a three-pointer by Davis after Ofue Ujadughele battled for a rebound, 8-5 (15:01)
>UCSB took their first lead on a jumper at 13:56 before Davis would spot Akiva McBirney-Griffin all alone underneath for a basket, 10-9 (13:39)
>A Gaucho jumper happened between a Dean Keeler rebound put-back (12:57) and a Justin Hohn
jumper at the elbow at 11:32, 14-11
>The teams would remain scoreless for two minutes until Devin Tillis hit a three-pointer up top at 7:59, 19-13
>UCSB scored the next four to close to 19-17 (6:49), but Baker would record a layup on the next trip down the court, 21-17 (6:33)
>Davis popped one in from the corner off an inbound pass at 3:50 (28-23) then had a fast break three at 3:50 to keep UCI on top 28-23
>Two free throws by Matija Belic (2:53) were followed by a three-pointer by Miles Norris to move the Gauchos in front, 30-28 (2:26)
>Baker took a steal and drove down the lane to knot the score at 30-30 (1:45)
>Ajay Mitchell had a pair of free throws and Norris hit three for UCSB before Davis raced across half court for a 40-foot three-pointer to go into the half trailing the Gauchos 33-35
>UCSB was 11-11 from the stripe in the half 
 
SECOND HALF
>Davis started the scoring just inside the arc, 35-35
>Following a UCSB jumper, UCI scored six unanswered on a Bent Leuchten lay-in (18:18), Davis jumper (17:34), and a pair of Leuchten free throws (16:44), 41-37
>After a UCSB freebie, another six in a row by the Anteaters on four Davis free throws and a bucket from Keeler after Davis found him sliding baseline, 47-38 (14:57)
>The teams would trade baskets, two by Tillis, gave UCI the 53-45 lead (12:13)
>UCSB would score the next five until a back cut led to a JC Butler layup (10:42) that was followed by three free throws, one by Baker and two by Leuchten extending the lead to 58-50 at 9:02
>Three points by UC Santa Barbara were nullified quickly by a three-pointer by Baker at 7:56, 61-53
>Baker would drain a three (5:35) then Pierre Crockrell II turned on the jets for a baseline layup to give UCI its largest lead at 4:51, 66-55
>Back-to-back baskets by the Gauchos cut it to 66-59 (2:52)
>Five consecutive offensive rebounds by UCI led to a Leuchten dunk at 1:17 (68-59)
>Two Davis free throws would close out the scoring, 70-59
 
NOTES
>UC Irvine outnumbered their opponent in all five specialty stat categories, holding them to single digits in four of them
>UCI only turned the ball over seven times, a new season low
>The Anteaters allowed only one Gaucho to score in double figures
>Baker has recorded double-digit points in 21 consecutive games, 25 on the season, and 47 in his career to average 15.1 points a game (16.5 in conference)
>Baker is just eight points away from eclipsing 400-season tallies
>Davis now sits 16^th all-time in UC Irvine history with 124 career made three-pointers and is six makes away from catching assistant coach Alex Young (2012-2016) for 15^th with 130
>Davis sets a new streak of 14 consecutive games with a three-point basket and has made at least one in 25 games this season
>Tillis has led the team in rebounding 11 times this season and is averaging 6.1 grabs off the glass a game
>The Anteaters currently hold the longest win steak in the conference with three
 
UP NEXT
The Anteaters return to the Bren Events Center on Saturday February 18, for a 1 p.m. tip against UC Davis.