OREM, UT – UC Irvine watched Utah Valley score 50 points in the paint in a 79-72 loss at the Utah Community Credit Union Center Wednesday to start the Cancun Challenge.

The Anteaters, who were down by as many as 12 in the first half, battled back but could not hold off the Wolverines late in the second half. Jovan Jester Jr. tied the game at 62-all with 6:03 remaining before UVU went on a 7-1 run to open the margin back to six with 4:09 to go. UCI would close to 67-71 on another Jester Jr. bucket, but the Wolverines answered again with the next six to stretch the lead to 77-67 with 1:25 to play. Utah Valley would out-score UCI 17-11 to close out the final six minutes.

HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER SAID
"We got beat tonight. Beat in a way that we aren't used to our program getting beat, being dominated in the paint. Give Utah Valley credit. They played at a high level, much like we did in our last home game. They were the better team tonight. Our guys are disappointed as I am. We will use tonight's experience to figure out how to get better.  We have a long way to go, but we will get better."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Guard Jurian Dixon led the Anteaters with 18 points, hitting 6-13 from the floor and 4-4 from the line with two three-pointers. He pulled down five rebounds and had two assists and a steal
>Guard Jovan Jester Jr. totaled 11 points on 3-7 shooting from the floor and 4-4 from the line. He also had five assists
>Center Elijah Chol put in a career-best 10 points in just just under 10 minutes of action. He added three rebounds, all on the defensive side
>Forward Kyle Evans had a team and season-high 10 rebounds to go with eight points, three blocks, three assists and two steals
>Forward Harrison Carrington and guards Tama Isaac and Derin Saran each recorded seven points. The guards each dished two assists, while Saran totaled three rebounds and two steals, while Carrington had three boards and a block
>For the game, UCI shot 39.7 percent (25-63), hitting 6-21 from beyond the arc (28.6%) and 16-21 from the free throw line (76.2%)
>Utah Valley shot 65.4% from the floor in the second half (17-26) and 51.7 percent for the game (31-60). 50 of their 79 points came inside the paint
>Four Wolverine players had double-digit points led by Isaac Davis with 18 points going 7-11 from the floor
>Both teams go to 3-2 on the season  

FIRST HALF
>Utah Valley opened the game with a 10-0 run all layups, but one before a Nes Emeneke floater broke the Ice for UC Irvine  which was followed by a dunk from Jurian Dixon off of a turnover (15:53)
>UVU would rattle off six in a row while holding UCI off the scoreboard for another 4:19, 16-4 (13:28)
>UCI snapped the scoreless streak with a Derin Saran jump shot and Kyle Evans layup to cut the UVU lead to 16-8 (10:41)
>Harrison Carrington chased down a Utah Valley player pushing in transition and pinned a block off the backboard then UCI used the block as momentum on defense, holding the Wolverines scoreless for 2:24 before a layup put UVU ahead 23-12 (7:30)
>A quick UCI 5-0 run led by an Elijah Chol three-pointer and Dixon pull-up jumper sent UVU into a timeout and got the Anteaters back into the game, 20-25 (4:02)
>The Anteaters out-scored the Wolverines, 7-4, the last a Saran up-and-under at the cup to cut the UVU lead to just 31-27 at the half 

SECOND HALF
>Tama Isaac hit a three to open the half and bring the Anteaters within a point (19:36)
>Dixon got out in transition for a huge two-handed dunk after UVU was slow to get back on defense on a missed free throw to make the score 38-35 in favor of Utah Valley (16:48)
>Jester Jr. continued his strong passing, recording his fifth assist on a bounce pass to a wide open Evans for another UCI dunk, 41-42 (14:48)
>Elijah Chol gave the Anteaters their first lead of the night, drawing contact and finishing a layup plus the foul for a three-point play, 45-44 (13:10)
>Andre Henry, in his first action since the 2024-25 season, got a floater to go in the paint to tie the game at 47 (11:53) 
>A 7-0 spurt, six on back-to-back threes by Hayden Welling gave the Wolverines a 54-47 lead (9:59)
>Dixon ended the run with back-to-back scores, hitting on a pull-up jumper and a catch-and-shoot three, followed by an Isaac free throw, 53-54 (9:01)
>A Carrington hook and three Isaac free throws tied the game at 58 (7:26)
>A 7-1 Utah Valley run put the Wolverines back up by six points with 4:09 to go
>Jester Jr. got three-pointer to go at 1:10, but the Anteaters ran out of time as the Wolverines went on to a 79-72 victory

NOTES
>The game marked the return of guard Andre Henry and the second career start by Ben Egbo
>UCI got 32 of their points from the bench
>The Anteaters were out-rebounded 43-35
>UCI swatted seven blocks, rejecting six or more blocks in each game this season
>UCI had a season-high 22 fouls

UP NEXT
UCI returns home to host Northern Iowa Saturday (Nov. 22) at 7:30 p.m.at the Bren Center before continuing the Cancun Challenge Nov. 25-26 at the Hard Rock Cancun Riviera Maya.