NASHVILLE, Tenn. – UC Irvine out-scored Belmont 18-9 in the final three minutes of the game to beat the Bruins 92-84 at the Curb Events Center Thursday.

Center Bent Leuchten led UCI with 23 points, recording 21 of his points in the second half, including 10 in the last three-minute spurt. The senior went 6-9 from the floor and 11-12 from the free throw line, Leuchten recorded his third double-double of the season with a game-high 15 rebounds, pulling down 12 on the defensive end.

Guard Justin Hohn dropped 14 of his 19 points in the second half, scoring the other eight points of the final run. He went 6-12 from the floor, including 4-6 from beyond the arc and 3-4 from the line. He dished four assists and had three rebounds.
 
UCI out-rebounded Belmont 40-29 and was solid at the line, hitting 24-26 (92.3). Belmont drained 15 three-pointers, but went 5-8 from the line.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Guard Myles Che was next up in scoring with a season-high 18 points on career-best 7-13 shooting from the field
> Forward Devin Tillis rounded out the double figure scoring as he posted 15 points with five makes from both the floor (5-7) and the line (5-5)
> Tillis also pulled down eight rebounds and recorded the lone Anteater block of contest
> Guard Jurian Dixon contributed seven points and career-high five rebounds
> Freshman Torian Lee recorded a team-best two steals along with six points for his second consecutive game with multiple steals and three-pointers
> UC Irvine shot 63.3 percent from the floor in the second half, the highest in a half for the 'Eaters this season
> 67 points in a half is the most scored by UCI or an opponent faced this season and is equal to or more than the total points scored by nine Anteater opponents through 11 games
> UCI, who lost the rebounding battle 23-14 in the first half, came out strong in the second half to hold the 26-6 advantage off the glass in the second half

FIRST HALF
> Bent Leuchten backed down the defense to open the scoring at 19:25 before a 12-0 run from Belmont that included two three-pointers was halted by Justin Hohn's (14:58) high arching hook shot, 12-4
> After the Bruins missed their second chance at the free throw line and a trey after the offensive rebound, Berk Can Akin lifted for a jumper at the line, 15-6 (12:31)
> A Belmont score was sandwiched between two mid-range shots from nearly the same spot by Myles Che (11:09, 10:13) to draw within seven, 17-10
> Devin Tillis dished to Hohn (6:24) who nailed the contested triple before spinning around the defense at the post to score, 27-17 (5:53)
> The Anteaters strung together to offensive plays as Jurian Dixon made the easy trip down the wide-open lane for a lay-in at 4:13 and Ofure Ujadughele passed to the open Kyle Evans under the hoop at 3:16 (32-23)
> Che posted the last score of UCI in the first half at 2:39 with his deep two as Belmont saw four more points go in on their side to take the 39-25 advantage into the break
> Both teams shot over 40 percent from the field in the first half (UCI, 41.4 and Belmont, 45.7)
 
SECOND HALF
> UCI came out strong from the break scoring the first five points in an 8-2 run that included five points from Devin Tillis, 42-34 (18:04)
> Hohn drained back-to-back three-pointers, the last at 15:03 bringing the game within six, 50-44
> Belmont quickly built the lead back on a pair of three-pointers, 56-44 (13:58)
> Che would score five unanswered the last a pull-up jumper at 11:27, 60-52
> A 7-0 run on a pair of Leuchten free throws, followed by Dixon driving around the paint for a layup and Tillis finding Leuchten underneath for a basket and free throw to cut the lead to 59-62 at 8:31
> Another 7-0 spurt using two more Leuchten free throws, a three-pointer by Torian Lee from the right corner and a jumper by Che just in front of the free throw line gave UCI their first lead since the opening possession of the game, 66-65 (6:55)
> Tillis hit a fall-away jumper and was fouled and made the free throw to put UCI up 71-69 before the Bruins drained wo three-pointers to move back in front, 75-71 (3:48)
> Following three Che free throws, another Bruin three-pointer would keep Belmont ahead 78-74
> Hohn took over on offense knocking down a three-pointer and a layup as he passed the torch to Leuchten who had a layup on a move that lost the defense underneath the basket and then battled for a rebound put-back and was fouled to give UCI an 84-78 advantage with 1:01 to play
> Following a timeout, Leuchten pulled down a defensive board and was fouled, knocking down two more from the line, 86-78 (:52)
> A free throw by Hohn and two by Leuchten would be sandwiched between two Belmont three-pointers, the last with 11 seconds to play, 89-84
> Hohn knocked down two more from the stripe with nine seconds left then Leuchten had the final point with a second to go sealing the win, 92-84
 
NOTES
> UC Irvine earned their fourth true road win of the season
> UCI is one of two Big West schools who have reached 10 wins
> Devin Tillis is now eight rebounds away from reaching the 500-rebound club
> Justin Hohn sits five steals away from entering the career steals leaderboard

UP NEXT
The Anteaters make the quick turnaround as they head to Duquesne for a 11:30 a.m. PT (2:30 p.m. ET) tip-off on Saturday Dec. 21.