Post Game Press Conference

IRVINE, Calif. – Justin Hohn posted a season-high 22 points to lead UC Irvine to a 66-61 victory over Jacksonville State in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament at the Bren Events Center Sunday evening.
 
UCI out-scored the Gamecocks 13-6 in the final 5:20 to pull away, taking advantage of the free throw line where the Anteaters were 7-7 and Jax State was 3-7.
 
Hohn went 7-15 from the floor, matching his career-high with four three-pointers. He also went 4-5 from the line and grabbed three rebounds.
 
UCI improved to 30-6, its second 30-win season in program history and second under the helm of head coach Russell Turner. The Anteaters are the just the eighth team in the nation to hit the milestone this season.
 
The Anteaters advance to the NIT quarterfinals for the first time in program history and will host UAB Wednesday (Mar. 26) at 6:00 p.m. at the Bren Events Center.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Center Bent Leuchten scored 10 points, hitting 4-4 from the free throw line, and pulled down seven rebounds
> Guard Myles Che made three baskets, all three-pointers, and went 2-3 from the line for 11 points
> Forward Devin Tillis grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and scored four points, all in the final five minutes
> Tillis also had three assists and two steals
> Guard Torian Lee recorded eight points, hitting 3-6 from the field, including two three-pointers
> Guard Jurian Dixon totaled three assists, three rebounds and a steal to go with two points
> Forward Ofure Ujadughele went 2-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the line with two rebounds, a steal and an assist
> The Anteaters scored 18 points off of 11 Gamecock turnovers
> Jacksonville State (23-13) was led by Jaron Pierre Jr.'s 15 points and game-high 11 rebounds

FIRST HALF
> After facing a small deficit to start the contest, Jurian Dixon passed to a wide-open Myles Che (17:03) who hit a three-pointer before Devin Tillis had a no look hook pass over to Bent Leuchten (15:54) who got fouled on his score and made the freebie from the line to put the Anteaters ahead, 8-6
> Jacksonville State moved back in front 12-10 at 13:40 until Torian Lee made the score equal at 12:43 as he spread out the like a starfish in the air to get the ball over the defense, 12-12
> Leucthen grabbed a carom off the glass for a put-back then Lee drained a three-pointer from the right corner, 17-14 (10:10)
> Ofure Ujadughele forced the turnover on one end of the court, went the distance of the floor, and made it count on a three-point play, 23-19 (8:02)
> Justin Hohn lit up from three-point range, knocking down back-to-back triples to force Jax State to regroup at 5:37, 29-19
> The Gamecocks went off for ten unanswered points, the last a three at 3:38, to tie the game 29-29
> Lee (3:07) stopped the streak with another three-pointer, this time from the left corner, before Leuchten found Ujadughele all alone under the basket for a layup at 2:35, 34-29
> A layup and jumper by Jax State would end the half with the Anteaters holding the 36-35 lead
 
SECOND HALF
> Che kicked off the half with a three-pointer to increase the margin, 39-35, at 19:44
> Jax State scored the next five until Che knocked down his third triple at 17:53 to move in front 42-40
> Guard play continued to be showcased on each side, trading jumpers to even the score at 44-44 with 16:00 to play
> The Gamecocks took the lead on a rebound put-back, 46-44 (14:03)
> Hohn heated up, draining a three-pointer from the UCI logo, then hit a free throw line jumper to give UCI a 49-46 lead at 11:40
> Ben Egbo came off the bench to give UCI a lift, sliding baseline on back-to-back possessions to move the Anteaters to a 53-48 advantage
> The lead was short-lived as Jax State scored the next seven to flip the script again, 55-53 (6:15)
> Leuchten battled down low, getting fouled in the motion of scoring, making the basket and the extra shot at 5:20 then Devin Tillis found a rebound and put it back in at 4:41 to seesaw back in front, 58-55
> A Gamecock pass slipped out and into the hands of Leuchten who was fouled and made two at the line, 60-55
> Jax State had a three on the other end before Tillis laid one in at 3:39 (62-58)
> It was only free throws the rest of the way with UCI getting two from Che (0:37) and Hohn (0:22) and Jax State making three of their four shots in the final 25 seconds, 66-61  
 
NOTES
> UC Irvine improves to 26-0 when leading with five minutes left in regulation
> It is just the second time in men's basketball history when the team has reached 30 wins in a season
> The Anteaters are 2-0 in 2024-25 against C-USA opponents
> UCI held opponents to 61 points or fewer 14 times this season
> Justin Hohn ranks fifth in all-time career steals (147)
> Hohn moves to fifth all-time with 203 career made three-pointers, needing 19 more to match assistant coach Michael Widler (224, 2009-13) for fourth
> Devin Tillis is now 13th in the all-time rebounding list with 673, just 12 away from meeting Tommy Rutherford (685, 2016-20) for 12th, while Bent Leuchten holds the 15th spot with 648
> Leuchten is now 13 rebounds away from matching Kevin Magee (337, 1980-91) for second all-time rebounds in a season
> Leuchten entered into the program's top ten in points scored in a season, posting 552 tallies in 36 games
> Hohn (11th--1,347), Leuchten (29th--1,133), and Tillis (34th--1,022) keep moving in the 1,000-career point scoring list
 
UP NEXT
The Anteaters will meet the Blazers for the first time in program history in the NIT Quarterfinals on Wednesday Mar. 26 for a 6 p.m. tip inside the Bren.
 

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UC Irvine has reached the 30-win mark for just the second time in the program's history and second under the helm of head coach Russell Turner#StillHungry | #TogetherWeZot pic.twitter.com/jHPK4QbLBH

— UCI Men's Basketball (@UCImbb) March 24, 2025