IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine center Bent Leuchten returned to the lineup and hit the game-winning three-pointer with 1:37 remaining as the Anteaters beat Cal Poly 55-54 at the Bren Events Center Thursday evening. 
 
Leuchten, who missed the previous eight games, grabbed a team-best eight rebounds and nine points in 18 minutes. 
 
The Anteaters shot .354 (17-48) from the field, the second lowest of the season. The squad was 14-19 from the line (73.7). Cal Poly went 17-56 from the floor (30.4) and 12-14 (85.7) from the line. 
 
UCI improves to 16-8 overall and 9-3 in the Big West, while Cal Poly drops its 12^th straight game and goes to 7-18 overall and 1-12 in league action. 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Guard DJ Davis led UCI with 16 points, going 5-12 from the field, including three-three pointers
>Davis registered a season high five rebounds, just one shy of his career best
>Guard Dawson Baker totaled 12 points, going a perfect 4-4 from the line
>Forward Devin Tillis went 4-5 from the floor and 1-1 from the line for nine points to go with six rebounds
>Pierre Crockrell II dished eight assists
>Chance Hunter led Cal Poly with 13 points followed by Brantly Stevenson with 12 points  
 
FROM ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH RYAN BADRTALEI
"Our team has character in a game where things aren't necessarily going great. Cal Poly fought very well so credit to them. Our mission this week was to shore up our defense. We weren't great off the glass, but we held them to 54-points which is great for us."
 
FIRST HALF
>Both teams struggled to get started as Dawson Baker had a driving baseline lay-up for the first points of the game at 18:28
>Devin Tillis followed with a lay-in at 17:56, 4-0
>Cal Poly hit its first basket, a three-pointer, at 16:15, 4-3
>Six consecutive free throws by the Mustangs (15:39, 14:54, 14:07, 13:23) put Cal Poly on top 9-4
>UCI remained scoreless for almost five minutes until two free throws by Bent Leuchten at 13:06, 6-9
>Following a Cal Poly three-pointer (12:19), Leuchten (11:42) and Baker (10:35) each added a pair of free throws, 12-10
>Baker knocked down a three-pointer at the top of the arc at 8:50, UCI's first field goal in nine minutes, 13-12
>Baker would hit from long distance again, this time from the right side to put UCI up 16-12 (8:14)
>Crockrell II (7:47) and DJ Davis (7:24) each had driving lay-ups to continue a 10-0 run, 20-13
>After a Cal Poly bucket, Davis hit a three at 6:42, 23-15
>Justin Hohn would get into the scoring with a three-pointer at 4:35, 26-18
>The Mustangs would out-score UCI 10-2, draining the last two three-pointers to end the half deadlocked at 28-28 
 
SECOND HALF
>Tillis powered in for a layup and was fouled, making the free shot, 31-28 (18:34)
>Crockrell II fired a pass to Davis in the left corner for a three-pointer at 16:30, 38-30
>Cal Poly would score 12 unanswered to take a 42-38 lead with 11:53 remaining
>Tillis had a spinning lay-in at 11:15 to stop the draught, 40-42
>Davis drained a basket (10:37) on one end and steal the ball on the other which led to a Tillis jumper and a Davis free throw from a Mustang flop to move UCI back in front 45-44 (9:51)
>Andre Henry would sky for a rebound and be fouled sending the teams to the eight minute media timeout
>Out of the break, Henry missed the free throws, but Baker pulled down the rebound and was fouled making both of his attempts from the line at 7:32, 47-46
>Davis would hit a long three at 7:06, 50-46
>Tillis spied Dean Keeler under the basket for a lay-up, 52-48 (3:36)
> Leuchten hit a three-pointer up top as the shot clock expired at 1:37, 55-50
>The Mustangs would steal the ball and convert on the other end to close within 55-54
>Cal Poly grabbed a defensive rebound and call timeout with 26 seconds left
>The Mustangs had two attempts at the line before Keeler pulled down the board and was fouled
>Keeler missed the free throw, but a Cal Poly heave would fall short giving the Anteaters the 55-54 victory 
 
NOTES
>UC Irvine improves to 2-0 on the season when tied at the half and 7-0 when they have held their opponent to under 60 points
>Baker has recorded double-digit points in 19 consecutive games, 23 on the season, and 45 in his career to average 14.8 points a game (16.2 in conference)
>Davis now sits 17^th all-time in UC Irvine history with 117 career made three-pointers and is five makes away from catching former teammate Eyassu Worku for 16^th
>Davis sets a new streak of 12 consecutive games with a three-point basket and has made at least one in 23 games this season
>The Anteaters improve to 11-1 when Crockrell II dishes out five or more assists
>This marks the second straight contest where UCI was out-rebounded their opponent
>Four 'Eaters shot perfect from the line—Baler (4-4), Davis (3-3), Hohn (2-2), and Tillis (1-1)
>Hohn and Tillis set new streaks in consecutive free throws made, setting new bests at eight and five, respectively
 
UP NEXT
UCI will host UC Riverside Saturday (Feb. 11) at 7:30 p.m. at the Bren Events Center.