THIS WEEK IN ANTEATER BASKETBALL

UC Irvine Anteaters (0-0) vs. Bethesda Flames (0-2)
Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
Monday, Nov. 3 - 7:00 PM | ESPN+ | KLAA AM830 | KUCI 88.9 FM | Live Stats | Game Notes

STORYLINES
UC Irvine will open the regular season with four home games beginning Monday (Nov. 3) against Bethesda at 7:00 p.m. at the Bren Events Center.
 
UCI will celebrate the 2024-25 NIT run with a banner reveal before the starting lineup and a NIT pennant giveaway for fans.
 
Later in the week, the Anteaters will face soon-to-be Big West member California Baptist on Friday (Nov. 7) at 7:30 p.m. NOTE THE 7:30 tip time.

UCI and Bethesda have met twice before most recently in 2021, an 86-54 UCI win featuring Andre Henry as the leading scorer in that game with 15 points along with nine rebounds and team highs of three assists, two steals, and 21 minutes played.

The first meeting was memorable back in 2020 where UCI set a program and Bren Events Center record scoring 135 points and 70 first-half points in a 135-55 UCI win. The game also featured program records of 56 field goals made and 31 assists as seven 'Eaters scored in double figures including Andre Henry with 17 points and five assists in 15 minutes.

Bethesda lost twice last week allowing exactly 98 points in each. Camron Durr leads the Flames with 13.0 points per game so far with a team-high 16 points in the loss to Hope International

The Anteaters begin their 51st season of basketball with an all-time record of 28-32 on opening night.

UCI is 43-17 in home openers, 11-4 under head coach Russell Turner.

The Bren Events Center has been a haven for the Anteaters who have gone 26-2 in their own building over the last two seasons. They've made a run of 79-12 over the last seven seasons.

UCI dropped a 94-64 decision at UCLA last Tuesday in the final exhibition of the season.

Guards Derin Saran and Jurian Dixon paced UCI with Anteaters with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Saran was 5-11 from the floor, including 2-4 from beyond the arc with a team-high four assists and three steals. Dixon had seven of his points in the second half with a three-pointer and 4-4 from the line.

All 15 UCI players in uniform got minutes and 12 added at least two points.