RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Extra time was not enough as UC Irvine dropped their first conference contest of the season, 84-80, at UC Riverside Thursday evening.
 
The Anteaters faced a 12-point deficit twice in the second half, but UCI utilized a 12-2 run to close within two, clutch baskets from Bent Leuchten and Devin Tillis in the final minute, as well as lock down defense from Justin Hohn in the final seconds to send the game to an extra frame.
 
Guard Myles Che came alive in the overtime period where he scored nine of his 20 total points. Che finished the game shooting 50 percent from the floor (7-14), including three makes from three-point distance, to go with three assists and three rebounds.
 
UC Irvine, who is ranked fourth nationally in free throw percentage, were just 19-27 (70.4 percent) at the charity stripe this evening.

FROM HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER
"Congratulations to UC Riverside; I thought they outplayed us tonight. They showed a level of competitiveness and desperation that wasn't there consistently enough for us. I am really proud of the team for fighting back and saving the game. I think there is great belief in this team. We just weren't able to get it done down the stretch. They made some shots from some key guys. We missed a bunch of shots from the free throw line which is uncharacteristic for us. But I have belief that this game will help us. I have to do a better job. I think I made some things too complicated in preparation for this game and we weren't able to compete at a high enough level to make the plays to win. I will get better, and we will get better. I am proud of the team's spirit to withstand a big deficit and get the game to overtime with a chance to win, but just fell short."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Center Bent Leuchten went 9-13 (0.692) from the line on his way to 17 points
> Leuchten had his ninth double-double with a game-best 12 rebounds
> Forward Devin Tillis scored of his 16 points in the first half, going 6-12 from the floor overall
> Tillis also had a double-double with 10 boards
> Guard Jurian Dixon poured in 10 points with two rebounds and two assists
> Guard Justin Hohn added nine points and matched Che with a team-best three assists
> Guard Torian Lee led all players with three steals
> Both teams had 39 rebounds and nine three-pointers
> UCR shared the ball, dishing 23 assists to UCI's 14
> UC Riverside was led by Barrington Hargress' 20 points and eight assists

FIRST HALF
> Devin Tillis turned into an offensive machine in the opening of the game, scoring all ten of UC Irvine's points in the first four minutes of action off a teardrop over the defense (18:27), two three-pointers (17:25, 16:16), and a put up at the post (16:46) to lead 10-7
> The Anteaters remained hot-handed from long-range as Myles Che (13:01) hit from the right side before Berk Can Akin (12:17) banked it in from the same spot, 20-16
> UC Riverside used a jumper in the paint and a trey to move in front of UCI, 25-23 (7:03)
> Kyle Evans swatted the ball at the hoop and dished over to Jurian Dixon who took the ball down the length of the court for a layup at 3:41 to give the Anteaters the 30-27 edge
> Hohn's triple (2:13) was sandwiched between two three-point makes from UCR which knotted the score, 33-33
> Following a pair of Highlander free throws, Che closed out the half with a jumper at 1:17 to keep the score equal, 35-all
 
SECOND HALF
> The Highlanders were hot out of the locker room, out-scoring UCI 9-3 to open a 44-38 lead at 17:56
> UC Riverside held a 49-41 advantage before UCI chopped away on a three-pointer from Che (15:36) and a driving layup by Hohn (14:41), 49-46
> The Anteaters offense was silent for over 5 minutes, watching UC Riverside score five unanswered, for their largest lead 58-46 with nine minutes remaining
> Leuchten stopped the drought with a layup but missed the and-1 opportunity, 58-48 (8:42)
> UCR pushed the margin back to 12, 60-48, with 8:27 to play on a layup, inspiring a UCI offensive explosion, a 12-2 run that was started by a jumper and capped by a three-pointer at 2:01, both by Dixon. Leuchten scored five during the stretch, three at the line.
> The Highlanders remained scoreless until two free throws at 1:44 to make it a four-point game, 64-60
> Leuchten battled off the glass putting back a third attempt (1:19) then knocked down a pair from the line at 1:02 to tie the game at 64-64
> UCR's Barrington Hargress had a turnaround jumper with 43 second left only to be answered by a Tillis layup with 31 to go
> Hohn played great defense holding UCR to a desperate jumper which was off the mark to send the game into overtime  
 
OVERTIME
> A layup and made free throw by Che gave UCI the 71-69 lead at 4:03
> UCR went ahead 80-74 off a three-pointer and layup (1:11)
> Che (0:59) pulled up for a jumper and a Leucthen (0:42) drove to the basket pulling the Anteaters within two, 80-78
> Out of a Highlander timeout, Hargress hit a jumper (0:15) then Che drove to the hoop for a layup with nine tickets left, 82-80
> UC Riverside's Isaiah Moses knocked down two free throws to seal the victory with six seconds on the clock, 84-80
 
NOTES
> UC Irvine moves to 1-1 in overtime games played this season
> UCI lost their first game that has been played after 5 p.m. local time, dropping to 16-1 (7-1 Big West)
> This was UC Irvine's first conference loss since Feb. 24, 2024 where they fell in overtime, 92-88, at UC San Diego
> Justin Hohn sits seventh in the career steals leaderboard with 126, needing 18 more to pass Evan Leonard (143, 2016-20) for sixth
> Hohn is the 25th all-time scorer in the program (1,155 points) now 53 points away from passing Chris McNealy (1,207, 2010-14) for 24th
> Bent Leuchten reached the 500-career rebound club, becoming the 29th Anteater to hit the milestone, and has already surpassed Alex Young (504, 2012-16) to sit 26th with 505
> Leuchten has tied the Big West lead in double-doubles, recording his ninth this evening
> Devin Tillis now sits 20th in the all-time rebounding list with 557, just 28 behind Mark Nelson (585, 1965-67) for 19th and 29 back from both Nick Sanden (586, 1966-69) and Jeff Cunningham (586, 1967-70) for 18^th
> It is the third time this season where both Leuchten and Tillis have earned double-doubles in the same contest
> Myles Che recorded his eighth straight double figure scoring game, the longest of any Anteater this season
  
UP NEXT
The Anteaters return to the Bren Events Center on Saturday Jan. 25 for a 7 p.m. start against Hawai'i.