IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine topped neighbor Vanguard, 81-58, in an exhibition game at the Bren Events Center on Wednesday evening.
 
The Anteaters had points from 10 different players, including four players with double-digit scoring. Redshirt freshman Jurian Dixon and graduate student Justin Hohn led the Anteaters with 14 points apiece. Dixon went 6-11 from the floor, while Hohn was 5-7 from the field with six rebounds and four assists. Both players knocked down two three-pointers.
 
UCI shot 49.2 percent (29-59) from the floor for the game and at a 0.593 clip in the second half.

FROM HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER
"Tonight was not so much about winning, but it is great that we won. We needed to go through some tough experiences tonight. Everybody got a chance to check in the game and got a sense for the competitive level that is going to be expected when we play at home. We got a great look at Vanguard. They came in here and competed hard. They were more competitive and more physical than we were during stretches of the game and that exposed some of what we need to correct about the way we have been practicing. I think we are going to be able to continue to define roles and be able to play better together than we did tonight, but it was a good night to get everybody out there to see the things we've been waiting to see."

"I thought Jurian (Dixon) was especially good tonight. He was ready. Dixon played with force tonight, explosive, and looked like he could get to the rim and finish. We didn't have a lot of guys who looked like they could do that tonight. Myles (Che) is going to continue to improve. He came into a tough role trying to be the point guard and tone setter in a team of veteran guys. It is hard to adjust and adapt into a role like that, but we can all see his talent and he is going to continue to get better as he learns from the experiences he gets and expectations we have."

FROM JURIAN DIXON
"I was excited to be out there. I know a lot of people are aware that I redshirted last year where I did a lot of watching and a lot of learning, so this year I just want to try and put it all together. It was a lot of fun. During the offseason, I worked on my body a lot, mindset, and my visual game were the main things I did to try and adapt more at this level."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Bent Leuchten tallied 12 points on a perfect 3-3 from the floor and 6-6 from the line night
> The center rejected three shots and pulled down five rebounds
> Elijah Chol went 4-7 from the field and 2-2 from the stripe to finish with 10 points to go with two blocks and three rebounds
> Forward Devin Tillis had a game-high nine rebounds
> Guard Myles Che posted nine points and four assists
> Forward Kyle Evans and guard Torian Lee each had six points with Evans grabbing five boards
> Lee also dished out four assists, grabbed four rebounds, and was perfect (4-4) from the charity stripe
> Vanguard was led by Anthony Tello with 14 points
> UCI out-rebounded the Lions 47-32
> The Anteaters showed dominance in the paint and off the bench outscoring the Lions 40-28 and 39-21, respectively

FIRST HALF
> Senior Devin Tillis opened the scoring at 19:25 when he grabbed the offensive board and went reverse up to the hoop, 2-0
> Vanguard took the advantage with a floater at the stripe before Justin Hohn knocked down a triple on the right flank at 16:59, 7-6
> The Lions then put up eight unanswered to go ahead, 14-7 (12:39)
> UCI's offense ignited to halt the opponent's scoring with a 14-0 run that included Elijah Chol (12:13) watching his second shot attempt spin in, Hohn (10:54) taking a few dribbles before sinking the three-pointer in the same spot, Bent Leuchten (10:31) fighting through three defenders to get up to the cup, and ending with Myles Che's (7:48) pull-up deep two for the 21-14 advantage
> Freshman Jovan Jester Jr. entered the game and immediately made an impact with a pass over to Jurian Dixon on the lower left side for a triple at 3:34 (28-18)
> Chol sparked a short Anteater scoring spurt when dunked on one end and then swatted the shot on the other, 30-20
> Two Torian Lee free throws and a two-handed slam by Leuchten closed out the half with UCI holding a 38-25 lead

SECOND HALF
> In response to a Vanguard trey at 19:17, Hohn and Leuchten led the scoring, each with a basket in the paint and three combined free throw makes to keep UCI ahead 45-30 at 16:30
> The Anteaters continues to outscore the Lions 5-1 out of the media break as Dixon (15:18) hit the three-pointer in front of the UCI bench and then Che (14:57) recorded a deep two from the same spot, 50-31
> Vanguard went on a 12-4 spurt to keep the Lions in the game, 56-45 (9:31)
> Great play-making from the guards led to Hohn blocking a shot from behind, got the ball into a position where Che could find him streaking down the lane for a layup at 7:46 and on UCI's next possession, Che (7:15) knocked down a three from the right corner to stop the Vanguard momentum, 65-50
> Dixon (2:59, 2:08, and 1:04) scored six of the 'Eaters seven to hold UCI at their largest advantage of the contest, 78-58
> UC Irvine's bench get off their feet in celebration as freshman Tishan Ahir drained a contested three with nine seconds left, 81-58

NOTES
> Tonight's game featured brothers Ofure (UCI) and Boogie (Vanguard) Ujadughele

UP NEXT
UC Irvine kicks off the season with their home opener inside the Bren Events Center on Nov. 4 at approximately 8 p.m. against Chapman in the second game of a doubleheader with the women's team.