LETHBRIDGE, Alberta – UC Irvine opened the Western Slam with a dominating 76-59 victory over Kennesaw State inside the VisitLethbridge.com Arena early Thursday evening.
 
The Anteaters shot over 50 percent in both halves to finish 32-62 (0.516) from the floor.
 
UCI had four players finish in double figures led by forward Devin Tillis's 15 points on 6-8 shooting from the floor, 2-3 from three-point range. The redshirt senior also chipped in four rebounds and three assists.
 
Redshirt freshman Jurian Dixon also finished with a career-best 15 points on an efficient 87.5 percent (7-8) from the floor including a triple.
 
Andre Henry muscled his way to 13 points in the contest as he went 5-9 in the field, pulled down four rebounds, dished out two assists, and stole the ball three times.
 
Center Bent Leuchten rounded out the double figure scoring with his 10 points (4-6) and grabbed a game high six rebounds.
 
The Owls, who are in the top national team rankings in rebounding and three-point shooting, lost the glass advantage (41-32) and were held to a season low 4-23 (0.174) mark beyond the arc.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Forward Kyle Evans stuffed the box score with eight points, six rebounds, and a block
> Guard Myles Che also finished with eight points
> Justin Hohn tied his season high six assists, doing so in back-to-back games
> Langston Redfield played a role in the distribution with a season-best four dimes
> 24 assists are the most by the Anteaters in a game this season
> Kennesaw State was led by Adrian Wooley's 19 points on six makes from the field (6-16) and from the free throw line (6-8)

FIRST HALF
> Kennesaw State went up 5-0 within the first 45 seconds of the contest before Bent Leuchten went to work scoring all six of UC Irvine's points before the media break at 16:05 to bring the game within one, 7-6
> The Anteaters claimed the lead at 15:25 when Andre Henry hit his signature free throw line jumper and then Devin Tillis (14:40) received the ball in the corner for a three-pointer, 11-7
> An Owl basket off the glass knotted the score 13-all at 13:09, but UCI would go on two four-point scoring spurts that saw an under the basket shot from Kyle Evans (13:02), turnaround float from Jurian Dixon (12:02), Langston Redfield (11:21) beating the defense and leaned into the shot, and another Dixon (10:42) layup to keep the 'Eaters ahead, 21-15
> UCI continued their run, scoring eight unanswered in two and a half minutes to lead 29-15, with the last score on a Hohn fast break (8:06)
> KSU then strung together seven points to bring the game within eight, 29-21, before a pass down to Leuchten (6:45) in the paint made it a ten-point game (31-21)
> The 'Eaters ended the half on two baskets from Tillis (2:13, 0:40) to head into the break with the 43-27 advantage
 
SECOND HALF
> After Kennesaw State opened the second stanza with a trey, Henry (19:00) knocked down a pair of free throws, Myles Che (18:42) nailed the three-ball, and Tillis (18:01, 17:34, 16:09) drove down the open lane, made a shot from the charity stripe, and shot the long ball to go up, 54-35
> The Owls outscored the Anteaters 6-2 in a two-minute span to draw withing 62-46 (9:03)
> Che (7:37) grabbed the offensive rebound and drew contact while going up for the shot where he converted the three-point play before Tillis (6:22) took to the baseline for the lay-in, 70-48
> UC Irvine emptied the bench after the final media break and allowed Berk Can Akin drop the ball down Elijah Chol (2:07) who elevated for a two-handed slam then Dixon (1:24) stole the ball and went coast-to-coast for a dunk of his own (76-55)
> KSU hit the final two baskets of the game, but UCI claimed the 76-59 victory to remain undefeated
 
NOTES
> UC Irvine improves to 2-0 on the season against opponents they are meeting for the first time in program history
> UCI matches their best start (6-0) since the 2018-19 season
> The Anteaters have held four of their six opponents to 60 points or less

UP NEXT
The Anteaters are slated to face Kent State on Nov. 29 with a 6:30 p.m. PT tip-off.