SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – UC Irvine rallied hard in the second half, erasing a 13-point halftime deficit to walk away with a total team 97-88 victory against UC Santa Barbara inside The Thunderdome.
 
The Anteaters were down by as much as 17 points in the first half but outscored the Gauchos 67-45 in the second half on the strength of 74 percent shooting from the floor (23-31) to claim the win. UCI ended the game scoring at a 57 rate (34-60, 0.567) from the field, 6-16 from three-point range (0.375), and was a near perfect 23-24 (95.8 percent) from the free throw line.
 
Redshirt freshman Jurian Dixon recorded a career-best 23 points on 6-9 shooting, including two three-pointers, while remaining perfect from the stripe (9-9). Dixon also grabbed two rebounds, dished two assists, and had two takeaways.
 
Forward Devin Tillis finished with 21 points, going 8-11 from the floor, with two triples (2-3), and three makes from to the line (3-3) to go along with six rebounds and an assist.
 
UCI set a new school record as they won their nation's best 14th true road win of the season. The 'Eaters also have a combined 17 wins away from Irvine, ranking first in the nation.
 
The Anteaters won their fifth straight contest, ending the regular season with a 27-5 overall and 17-3 in the Big West. 27 wins are the program's most since the historic 31-6 run in 2018-19.

FROM HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER
"It was an outstanding team win on the road again and I just couldn't be prouder of the way this team has performed and believed on the road this year. To win 14 this year is a really special season. To give them 16 three-pointers and win is a bit of a surprise, but our defense carried, and I am happy about that. I am super proud of everyone but especially these veterans. It was the veterans tonight who mostly closed this game in Bent, Devin, Justin, and Ofure. I just thought they were incredible and put a defensive run on UC Santa Barbara. Jurian Dixon was outstanding and really, really competitive in his defensive plays and offensive performance. Justin Hohn in the second half finished with 17 points and nine assists. Just dominant once he got his legs back under him after we sat him out. I think Myles will be okay and we will be cautious on that one just like we were in the last game with Justin. Our team showed great belief in the next man up when another guy is out. The belief this team has makes me the most excited for the opportunity we get to have to play in the Big West tournament. We know we are going to play good teams that can beat us. We also know what we are made of."
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Guard Justin Hohn ended with a near double-double of 17 points and nine assists
> All 17 of Hohn's points came in the second half
> Center Bent Leuchten completed his 16th double-double of the season behind a 14 point, 10 rebound effort
> Forward Kyle Evans rounded out the double figure scoring with 10 points, not missing a shot from the field (4-4) or from the stripe (2-2)
> Forward Ofure Ujadughele tied the team-best in steals (2)
> The Gauchos also shot over 50 percent from the field (32-61, 0.525) and hit 16 three-pointers (16-33, 0.485)
> 50 of UCI's points came in the paint and they won the rebounding battle, 30-26
> UC Santa Barbara was led by Deuce Turner's 28 points, going 11-16 from the field and 5-10 from long-range
 
FIRST HALF
> UC Santa Barbara opened the contest with five straight points until the Anteaters answered with four to draw within one, 5-4, on a pair of Jurian Dixon (16:49) free throws and post shot from Bent Leuchten (16:00)
> After the Gauchos went on a 6-2 run, Torian Lee (11;48) turned around for a jumper before UCSB scored five more, 16-8
> Devin Tillis (8:56) knocked down a three-pointer and Leuchten had a layup (8:24) before UCSB exploded for 13 in a row, including two three-pointers to open a 31-15 lead at 5:11
> UCI rallied with a second chance Tillis lay-in, a Kyle Evans kiss off the glass, and a Myles Che baseline jumper to go to 34-25 at 2:06
> The Gauchos hit a three with 19 seconds left but Tillis went down and hit one on the other end to close the margin at the half, 43-30
 
SECOND HALF
> Justin Hohn came out of the break firing, taking the lane for a layup (19:24), dropping the ball off the ball off to Tillis for a layup, and then receiving the ball for a triple (16:11), 45-39
> UCI made it a four-point game twice, when Evans (15:25) got fouled and made his extra shot and on a Dixon (14:28), to bring it to 51-47
> The Gauchos out-paced the Anteaters 10-3 over a two-minute stretch before Leuchten spun in the paint, 64-52 (12:21)
> Hohn cut the deficit back to nine, 68-59, when he lifted for the drop into the hoop at 9:57
> Dixon took over for seven straight points on a baseline layup, a pair of shots from the line, and a corner triple to make it a 76-73 game (5:27)
> After the Gauchos only made one of two free throws, Hohn's three-point play on a wide-open lay-in and then his fake of the defense to go to the baseline for the score gave UC Irvine their first lead of the contest at 4:36, 78-77
> Tillis backed down the defense and Dixon stole the ball for the coast-to-coast score, 83-77 (3:02)
> UC Irvine scored nine points in the final 45 seconds, the last a Hohn layup, to seal with win
 
NOTES
> UC Irvine has won five straight games against UC Santa Barbara
> UCI matches their best 17 conference wins for the second straight year
> Justin Hohn is tied for sixth with Evan Leonard (2016-20) in career steals (143)
> Hohn matches Jaron Martin (2013-17) for 190 career made three-pointers
> Devin Tillis sits 14th in the all-time rebounding list with 642, just 28 from meeting Ben McDonald (670, 1980-84) for 13^th
> Tillis is 35 points away from hitting the milestone 1,000-point club in a UC Irvine uniform
> Bent Leuchten is tied 15th in the rebounding standings with both Jeff Von Lutzow (614, 1989-93) and Jerry Maras (614, 1972-75) for 15th
> Leuchten leads the Big West and team in double-doubles (16)
> Leuchten moves up in UCI's single season rebounding ranks, placing sixth with 290
> Jurian Dixon has scored in double figures in seven straight games
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine earned a double-bye into the 2025 Hercules Tires Big West Championship as the second seed. The Anteaters will play at 8:30 p.m.