RIVERSIDE, Calif. – A 9-0 run in the final five minutes helped UC Irvine to a 71-63 victory over California Baptist in the final non-conference game of the season at the Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler Events Center. 

Center Bent Leuchten, scored a game-high 20 points with 16 in the second half, including scoring seven points in the nine-point run. He went 6-8 (0.750) from the floor and 7-8 (0.875) from the line. The senior had a double-double, pulling down 10 rebounds, his fourth of the season.
 
The win marked another milestone for head coach Russell Turner, the 300th in his career. Turner becomes the tenth active head coach who has only coached at one institution to reach this achievement.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Both Devin Tillis and Justin Hohn posted 13 points in the win
> Tillis scored 11 of his points in the second half on 5-6 shooting, 6-14 overall in the contest
> 11 of Hohn's points came in the first half including the lone Anteater three-pointer in the first 20 minutes
> Guard Myles Che rounded out the double figure scoring with 12 points while leading UCI with four assists
> Freshman Berk Can Akin came off the bench for five points and knocked down his first career three-pointer
> Guards Jurian Dixon and Torian Lee finished with four points apiece
> UC Irvine shot 28-56 (0.500) from the field in the contest marking the sixth time this season where they shot 50 percent or more in a game
> CBU held the slight glass advantage, 35-32
> California Baptist had two players total 19 points, Dominique Daniels Jr. and Adam Moussa, where Moussa knocked down five three-pointers

FIRST HALF
> Guard Justin Hohn slipped the baseline at 18:42 for a reverse layup to keep the game level until California Baptist scored back-to-back three-pointers (16:47, 16:19) to go ahead, 8-2
> Torian Lee halted the Lancers six unanswered scoring spurt with a stop and pop, 14-6 (12:40)
> The Anteaters mustered their best scoring run of the half in a 26 second span as Hohn's (8:24) driving lay-in bounced in off the heel and Bent Leuchten (7:58) tipped in the UC Irvine attempt that hit off the rim, 16-10
> After Leuchten grabbed the defensive rebound, he dropped the ball over to Myles Che who passed the ball over the timetable to Hohn for the catch-and-shoot three at 4:57, 22-17
> CBU responded with a triple, their last field goal of the half at 4:41, before making two trips to the charity stripe (3:57, 2:42), to extend their advantage out to 29-21
> UCI used two makes at the line from Che (0:54) and a wide-open under the basket put-in from Leuchten (0:14) that rattled in to close within four at the break, 29-25
> The Anteaters held the Lancers scoreless in the final 2:42 of the first half while CBU held the glass advantage, 19-12
> Both teams went a perfect 4-4 at the line in the first 20 minutes
 
SECOND HALF
> UC Irvine opened the second stanza battling as Devin Tillis (19:35) pushed the ball up to the cup and it fell in right as the shot clock rang, 29-27
> Jurian Dixon scored four of the Anteaters six points, his last a layup at 15:37 to give UCI their first lead of the contest at 35-34
> After three ties, Lee (10:38) took the ball around the defense for a lay-in to put the Anteaters back in front 46-44
> The teams would trade baskets until Leuchten found Tillis underneath the basket for a layup, 53-51 (8:30)
> CBU scored the next five points before Che took over on offense with three straight baskets, fighting to keep UC Irvine ahead 59-58 at 4:54
> Following the final media timeout of the contest, an inspired Leuchten went on a 7-0 run off his own including a dagger three-pointer at the top of the arc at 1:27, 66-58
> Two Lancer free throws preceded a Tillis putback and three Leuchten free throws, the last with 14 ticks on the clock to put the Anteaters up 71-61
> A CBU three-pointer ended the scoring, 71-63 
 
NOTES
> UC Irvine has held four opponents to single digit makes and attempts from the free throw line and have done so in back-to-back games
> Devin Tillis surpassed former assistant coach Alex Young in the 500-career rebound leader board to sit 25th with 507
> Justin Hohn sits five steals away from entering the career steals leader board
> Hohn moves into 30th in the all-time scoring list with 1,070 tallies, passing both Jaron Martin (2013-17) and Daman Starring (2010-13)

UP NEXT
The Anteaters kick off 2025 and resume Big West action in San Luis Obispo on Jan. 2 with a 5 p.m. start against Cal Poly.
 

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— UCI Men's Basketball (@UCImbb) December 31, 2024