LOS ANGELES – Hot shooting from UC Irvine in the first half lifted them to a 66-51 victory over LMU inside Gersten Pavilion Friday evening.
 
The Anteaters ripped a fiery 0.556 clip (5-9) from three-point range and 13-25 (0.520) from the field while holding the Lions to 16.7 percent (1-6) from three in the first 20 minutes. UCI did not trail in the contest.
 
Guard Andre Henry led UCI's scoring with 17 points on 5-7 shooting from the field, 3-5 from long range, and 4-4 from the charity stripe.
 
Senior Bent Leuchten rounded out the double figure scoring with his 11 points. The center pulled down a team best 11 rebounds to record his first career double-double.

FROM HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER
"Really excited to come on the road and play defense at this level like I have seen these veteran guys do. We set the tone with our focus and competitiveness and that is what I thought this group could do but we haven't seen it in awhile. I give Andre (Henry) credit for coming back from an injury and coming back to perform like he did this game is huge for us. I also thought Kyle Evans was outstanding as a shot blocking presence and as an offensive facilitator for us. Bent (Leuchten) looked like a dominant guy tonight and was by far the biggest guy on the floor. He played with poise and made big plays which anchored our zone. Really good overall performance from our team. We are excited about it and we have to let it go and get to the next one." 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Both Justin Hohn and Devin Tillis tallied eight points
> Hohn knocked down two shots from three-point range while Tillis grabbed six boards
> Kyles Evans swatted away two shots, a game high
> Myles Che and Ofure Ujadughele dished out four assists each
> Langston Redfield contributed five points, four rebounds, and three assists
> Both teams scored 16 points from their bench
> LMU was led by Jevon Porter's 19 points and 12 rebounds

FIRST HALF
> UC Irvine opened the action with four straight points when Andre Henry (19:38) drove through the mostly open paint and Myles Che finding Devin Tillis (19:02) at the block, 4-0
> Bent Leuchten (18:18) knocked down his free throws and then Justin Hohn kicked out to Henry (17:00) to put the Anteaters up by six, 9-3
> The beast inside Langston Redfield came alive after the first media break as he took the ball down the court finding the gap to go to the hoop (14:45), went for three (13:55), and his bounce pass over to Jurian Dixon for a flying lay-in at 13:27 forced LMU to take a timeout, 16-7
> Five more points were scored by the Anteaters before the Lions stop the UCI scoring stint with a basket underneath, 21-9 (10:20)
> UCI stretched their advantage out to 21 points in the first half at 5:01 when Kyle Evans got fouled on the score and made his extra shot from the line, 36-15
> LMU had the final two baskets before the halftime break to draw to 36-23
 
SECOND HALF
> The Anteaters went on an 8-2 run to open the second half action as Leuchten (19:11) hit a floater in the paint, Hohn (17:23) caught and shot for three on the inbound pass play, and Henry (15:30) receiving the kickout pass for a triple, 44-25
> The Lions (14:10, 12:53) went back-to-back from three to cut their deficit to 13, 44-31
> After Hohn nailed the three-point shot at 10:40, the Lions responded with two of their own, 49-39 (8:57)
> Che pulled up for a jumper before Tillis toyed with the defense and turned around for a floater in the paint, 56-40 (5:29)
> A pair of made free throws with 42 seconds left on the clock gave Leuchten his first double-double of the season
> Hohn (0:31) went coast-to-coast for the final Anteater basket of the contest, but LMU (0:21) scored a three-pointer to close out the game, 66-51
 
NOTES
> UC Irvine won their second straight against LMU, both by double figures
> The Anteaters moved to 81 in KenPom after they entered the contest ranked 104

UP NEXT
The Anteaters stay on the road for a 1 p.m. CT (11 a.m. PT) meeting at Northern Iowa on Sunday Nov. 10.