LETHBRIDGE, Alberta – Forward Devin Tillis's late game offense powered the Anteaters to a 67-60 win over Towson to close out the Western Slam inside the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
 
Tillis poured in 13 second half points, the most of any player, and knocked down two pairs of free throws in the final 46 seconds of the contest to secure the victory. He finished the game with a career-high 25 points on 75 percent shooting from the field (9-12) and perfect 3-3 and 4-4 marks from three-point range and the line, respectively.
 
The forward was named the Western Slam MVP and to the Western Slam All-Tournament team alongside teammate Bent Leuchten. VonCameron Davis (Kent State), Mekhi Lowery (Towson), and Simeon Cottle (Kennesaw State) round out the All-Tournament honorees.
 
UC Irvine leaves Canada with three wins behind strong defensive performances as the Anteaters held their opposition to 60 points or less in each of the contests. UCI improves to 8-0 on the year and are one of six teams who hold the nation's longest win streak.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Leuchten finished with 11 points, grabbed six rebounds, recorded two steals, and blocked two shots
> Both Justin Hohn and Myles Che ended with nine points apiece
> Hohn, who eclipsed the 1,000-career point mark, pulled down five rebounds and assisted four baskets
> Che went 3-6 from the floor including a three-pointer and 2-2 from the charity stripe
> Kyle Evans was a machine on defense behind a career-high seven rebound performance and two swats
> UC Irvine shot 52.2 percent from the field (24-46) and 50 percent from long-range (6-12)
> The Anteaters held Towson to 2-10 (0.200) from distance, the third time in three games where an opponent has not been able to hit the 0.400 clip mark
> Five blocks are the most for UC Irvine in a game this season
> Towson was led by Mekhi Lowery's 14 points on 6-9 (0.667) shooting

FIRST HALF
> Threes were the name of the game to keep UC Irvine ahead of Towson who kept pulling within a few points. Devin Tillis (17:13) went first with a contested three-pointer then he passed out to Bent Leuchten (16:31) who was hanging out at the top of the arc for the shot, 8-4
> The Tigers drew contact on a made basket and before they could take the extra shot from the line, Towson was able to add two more points to their total off technical free throws, 9-8 (15:35)
> Both sides each shared the lead until the Anteaters were able to use a 9-0 run that saw Langston Redfield () muscle his way up to the cup, a Torian Lee teardrop (11:38), Jurian Dixon bounce pasting to Tillis (11:04) who went reverse, then Justin Hohn (9:11) got through traffic for a wide swinging lay-up that forced Towson to call a timeout, 20-13
> Towson scored seven unanswered to knot the game 24-all at 4:44 before taking their largest lead of the contest at 2:58 (28-25)
> The Anteaters right back in it when Hohn (1:57) pulled up for an NBA distance three-pointer and Tillis (1:07, 0:42) knocking the ball in off the glass and hitting the triple to pull ahead, 33-30
> UC Irvine converted at a 56.5 rate (13-23) from the field in the first 20 minutes and 50 percent from three (4-8)  
 
SECOND HALF
> Towson came out of the break with a baseline floater and trey to reclaim the advantage early, but a goal-tending call on Tillis's (17:22) drive and post move from Kyle Evans (15:56) pushed the Anteaters back in front, 39-36
> After four more points from Evans, the Tigers narrowed the margin to two with a basket at 12:12, 45-43
> Back-to-back three-pointers from Che (9:08) and Tillis (8:11) gave UC Irvine their largest lead of the game before Towson went on a 9-0 run to make it a one-point game, 55-54 (5:28)
> A battle on the floor ensued as the Tigers moved in front by one, twice, the last at 2:45 (60-59)
> Leuchten hooked in a shot at 1:24 to put UCI back in the driver seat. Sharp shooting at the charity stripe was vital in the Anteaters win, going 6-6 from the line in the final 46 seconds to claim the tournament title
 
NOTES
> UC Irvine moves to 3-0 in 2024 when meeting an opponent for the first time in program history
> UCI improves to 8-0 in MTE contests played over the last three seasons
> The Anteaters have held six of their eight opponents to 60 points or less
> UCI posted their second best percentage at the stripe of the season (13-14, 0.929)
> The 'Eaters have shot over 50 percent from the field in four contests in 2024
> Hohn became the 33rd player to wear a UC Irvine uniform to join the 1,000-point club
> Leuchten (9.0) and Tillis (8.3) rank second and third in the Big West in rebounding

UP NEXT
UC Irvine kicks of Big West action with the league's Bold Week from Dec. 5-7. The Anteaters host Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. inside the Bren Events Center.