IRVINE, Calif. – In the battle of unbeaten Big West teams, UC Irvine prevailed with a 76-65 victory over UC San Diego in an electric Bren Events Center on Thursday night.

Guard Andre Henry was stellar on both ends of the court. The junior led the Anteater offense with 18 points, hitting 7-12 from the floor, including 4-6 from three-point range while holding UCSD's Bryce Pope, who averages 18.7 points per game, to just eight points on 1-8 from the field and 6-6 from the stripe. 

UC Irvine wins its fifth straight, improving to 13-5 overall and is on top of the Big West standings with a 6-0 mark. UCSD goes to 11-7 on the year and 5-1 in league action. 

The Anteaters shot 28-57 (0.472) for the game, including a blistering 16-29 (0.429) in the second half. UCI hit nine three-pointers and were also impressive from the free throw line, going 11-12 (0.917). Unselfish play resulted in 19 assists.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Guard Justin Hohn posted 14 points on 5-10 from the floor and 2-2 from the line
> Hohn dished a team-high five assists which is his season best
> Devin Tillis grabbed a team-best nine rebounds and scored all of his 11 points in the second half
> Tillis stole the ball three times, a career high, and added two assists
> Center Bent Leuchten added nine points, while guard Pierre Crockrell II had eight points and four assists
> Freshmen Derin Saran and Carter Welling each recorded six points
> UCI limited the top three-point making team in the Big West to only five (5-20, 0.250) in the game
>The Tritons held the advantage on the glass, out-rebounding UCI 37-29
> Francis Nwaokorie paced UCSD with 17 points and seven rebounds 

FROM HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER
"I thought it was a good performance for us. We did what we should do. We had a really good college atmosphere in here tonight and I am really appreciative to the community for showing up. I thought we wore them down which was what we thought we could do. As the game went on, I thought we had some impressive performances on offense and defense."

"Man, I am just super happy for him [Andre Henry] and his family as well as the commitment that they have maintained here in Irvine. Andre has done what ask him to do and he has built his game off of defense. It is almost like the better defense he plays, the better offense he plays too. He has taken a challenge to play the other team's best player and makes its hard for the guy he is guarding every night because of his length, athleticism, and intelligence. It is a really great combination to show as a defender, but it was a team effort."

"We have a team of good passers and that was one of the things I knew coming into this season. Passing is not all about unselfishness, but it is about game feel and timing. It is hard to teach passing- you either have it or you don't. When we were patient offensively tonight and made them [UC San Diego] work, I thought that was key to making those plays that led to all the assists."

FROM ANDRE HENRY
"We knew how important he [Bryce Pope] was to their team with his scoring and his play making, so I am happy how we played against him tonight. I might get the credit, but that was a team job right there. We played great defense and made him have a hard night."

"I have been through so much since I have been here not just basketball wise but in life as well. I am just so grateful to the coaches for sticking with me and always believing in me. Honestly, I just waited my turn. I love the culture here, I love the people, and I love my teammates. I put the work in and now you are seeing the work."

"I think we have unselfish guys. No one cares about their own stats. We just want to win and do it together. We have just gelled so well together and I am proud of how well we stick together. It is not just about basketball, we are really a family."

FIRST HALF
> Justin Hohn scored eight of the Anteaters first 10 points, draining two three-pointers, the last giving UCI a 10-9 lead at 14:03
> A three and layup plus free throw by Francis Nwaokorie put UCSD on top 14-10 (11:26)
> The Tritons went on a 7-2 run to extended the lead to 21-14 (7:27) until Bent Leuchten stopped the Anteater scoring draught at 6:30
> Andre Henry knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to knot the score at 28-28 (3:22)
> The Tritons outscored UCI 5-4 to end the half holding a one point lead, 33-32
> UCSD's Nwaokorie went 5-7 from the floor to carry UCSD with 15 points and five rebounds

SECOND HALF
> Devin Tillis nailed a three-pointer in the first possession of the half then UCSD answered with two three-pointers around a Pierre Crockrell layup before Carter Welling kept it even with a dunk at 17:56, 39-39
> Scoring was at a torrid pace as UCSD made their first five shots and UCI was 5-6, 16:03 (45-45)
> A three-pointer by Henry (16:40) and a block by Dean Keeler that led to a driving layup by Derin Saran capped a 7-0 Anteater spurt that forced a UCSD timeout at 12:42, 50-45
> UCSD would take 5:42 to record another basket to close to 49-52 at 11:42
> Hohn had a layup from a pretty pass from Serin at 10:22. Neither team scored again until UC San Diego had a pair of free throws from Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones at 7:59 (56-53)
> More unselfish passing led to a Hohn layup that stopped a 5:11 scoreless streak for the 'Eaters to increase the UCI lead to 58-53
> UC Irvine went on a 10-2 run, including a layup and three-pointer by Henry, 66-55 (3:34)
> The Tritons answered with a 7-2 run of their own, closing to 68-62 with 2:08 on the clock
> Henry spun at the free throw line for a fall-away jumper (1:03) and Hohn added two free throws (0:45) to stop the UC San Diego momentum, 72-62
> A UCSD three with 38 seconds left kept it interesting (65-72), but that would be the last point by the Tritons as UCI would end with the final four points, 76-65

NOTES
> UC Irvine controls the Big West standings as they remain undefeated and are the first team to reach six league wins
> UCI remains undefeated at the Bren Events Center this season, 7-0
> The Anteaters hold their best start to conference play since the 2016-17 season
> UCI has shot over a 0.800 clip from the charity stripe for the third straight game to improve to 0.743 (254-342)
> Justin Hohn is now four three-point makes away from catching Brett Lauer (2007-09) to enter the career made three-pointers leader board

UP NEXT
UCI heads to UC Davis on Jan. 20 for a Saturday afternoon game (2 p.m.).