IRVINE, Calif. – Center Bent Leuchten posted his 11th double-double of the season in RV UC Irvine's 73-66 victory over UC Davis at the Bren Events Center Saturday afternoon.
 
With the win, UCI became the third team in the country to win 20 games this season (20-3), for the 15th 20-win season in program history and 10th under head coach Russell Turner. The Anteaters recorded their 20th win in 23 games, matching the 2000-01 squad as the fastest to accomplish the feat. UCI's home winning streak extends to 22 straight.
 
Leuchten, who ranks eighth nationally in double-doubles, had a game-high 21 points and 13 rebounds and dished a career-best six assists in addition to two blocks. The center went 5-11 from the floor and 9-9 from the free throw line in 30 minutes of action.
 
FROM HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER
"I feel really good about the outcome today. The fact that we had to fight hard for it and went through some things in the first half that we needed to go through. I told the guys don't take this for granted. There are a lot of guys who play college basketball that never experience a 20-win season. We have experienced a lot of those, and I am grateful to so many people who were a part of that and we have a long way to go. We have an open day on Thursday, so we have the opportunity to get a lot better. I am excited for what remains possible for this group. I am appreciative of the support we are getting now from this community and hopefully it continues to grow as we go into a big-time matchup next week against UC San Diego."
 
"Bent [Leuchten] is a stud. If he continues to assert himself, he is as good as any guy in this league. Bent is a really good basketball player. He is a really tough dude. He has a lot to continue to growth through and I am grateful we are a part of it. Also, let's not forget that he is great because of the guys around him."
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Guards Justin Hohn and Myles Che each had 17 points
> Che shared five assists and Hohn pilfering three steals
> Guard Jurian Dixon notched nine points on the afternoon
> Forward Devin Tillis totaled seven rebounds and four points
> UC Irvine shot 56.3 percent from three-point range (9-16), tying their season-best percentage
> UCI held a slight 36-35 advantage in rebounds as the teams were tied in assists (16)  and steals (8)
> The Anteaters out-scored the Aggies 26-12 in the paint
> UC Davis was led by TY Johnson's  21 points, six rebounds, and five assists
 
FIRST HALF
> UC Davis scored the first seven points of the contest until Myles Che knocked down a three-pointer in the right corner at 17:33, 7-3
>UCI went on the run as a trailing Bent Leuchten pulled down a rebound and got credited with a basket after a goaltend (16:51). Then, Devin Tillis stole the ball and UCI would be on the run again, feeding a streaking Justin Hohn who went for the layup to tie the score at 7-7 (16:25)
>Leuchten was left alone beyond the arc, draining a three-pointer to give UCI its first lead of the day, 10-9 (15:31)
> Hohn hustled on defense where he was able to set up a play that allowed him to knock down the three-ball at 14:08, 13-11
> A three-pointer by Torian Lee and two free throws by Leuchten gave the Anteaters the 20-17 advantage at 9:35
> Ten straight by the Aggies moved UCD back in front 29-22 (5:08)
> UCI ended the half with the final six points, a Leuchten three (0:40) and a three-point play off a tip in and free throw by Jurian Dixon (0:06) brought UCI within one, 34-33, at the half
 
SECOND HALF
> UCI sprinted out of the break on an 8-2 run, behind the tandem of Che and Leuchten. Che had two free throws and a layup high off the glass, while Leuchten recorded a layup and two free throws to move UCI out to a 41-36 lead at 16:45
> The Anteaters continued to pick up the pace, outscoring the Aggies 8-3 on two layups each from Tillis and Hohn. One of Hohn's came following a block by Leuchten on the defensive end on a no-look pass from Che, 52-44 (13:25)
> Hohn had a non-look bullet pass to Kyle Evans for a dunk at 11:36 (54-46)
> UC Davis scored five unanswered to draw within three, 54-51, before Che was bumped into the UCI bench, draining the three anyway and make the free throw to follow, 58-51 at 8:26
> Leuchten dragged a defender to the free throw line then lost him driving back to the basket where he got fouled, making the and-1 shot, to give the Anteaters a 66-56 lead at 4:59
> Two Che free throws were followed by a Dixon layup down the paint and a Hohn three-pointer at the buzzer to give UCI their largest lead of the game, 73-60 (3:26)
> That would be UCI's final points of the game as the Aggies scored the last six for a 73-66 final score
 
NOTES
> UC Irvine inducted men's basketball player Mike Heckman (1965-68) into the Athletics Hall of Fame and honored the 2025 Class at halftime
> UCI moves to 7-0 on the season when Myles Che dishes out four or more assists in a game
> The Anteaters have made 31-33 free throws (0.939) over the last two games
> Justin Hohn sits seventh in the career steals leaderboard with 132, needing 12 more to pass Evan Leonard (143, 2016-20) for sixth
> Hohn is the 25th all-time scorer in the program (1,198 points) now 10 points away from passing Chris McNealy (1,207, 2010-14) for 24th
> Devin Tillis now sits 20th in the all-time rebounding list with 582, just three behind Mark Nelson (585, 1965-67) for 19th and four back from both Nick Sanden (586, 1966-69) and Jeff Cunningham (586, 1967-70) for 18th
> Bent Leuchten is 23rd in the rebounding standings with 536, needing 18 more to move in front of Eric Wise (553, 2008-11) for 22nd and 19 to go in front of Mamadou Ndiaye (554, 2013-16) for 21st
> Leuchten leads the Big West with 11 double-doubles and is one of seven players in the nation with seven or more 20-point, 10-rebound games
> Myles Che recorded his 11th straight double figure scoring game, the longest of any Anteater this season
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine will entangle with UC San Diego next Saturday (Feb. 8) at 7:00 p.m inside the Bren Events Center in a battle of the Big West's top two teams.