LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC Irvine guard Jurian Dixon had a layup with 28 seconds left to take down UC San Diego, 61-59, at LionTree Arena Saturday night.

The UC Irvine defense held UC San Diego scoreless for the final 3:47 to capture the victory. The Anteaters shot 40.3 percent (25-62) from the floor and held the Tritons to just 22-65 (33.8%) shooting overall.

UC Irvine remains atop the Big West with a 7-2 record and improves to 14-7 overall.

Dixon joined guard Andre Henry with a team-high 12 points. Dixon had three rebounds, while Henry pulled down two boards and was efficient from the floor, going 4-8 overall, with two three pointers and two free throws.

Post players Kyle Evans and Harrison Carrington each added 10 points with seven and five rebounds, respectively. Evans added to his nation-leading block mark with three rejections.

HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER SAID:
"I'm excited to win for these guys, at the end of a four-game road trip. That's a really tough assignment that the conference gave us. We came out with a competitive mindset and made enough plays to win against a really good San Diego team. We won this one last year [in San Diego] too, and then they got us later in the season in the more important games, but we know we have to keep getting better."

GUARD ANDRE HENRY SAID:
"I feel good. The last time we were in that situation, Hawai'i hit a big shot to beat us, so it feels good to learn from my mistakes, and come out with a hard, tough fought win against a really good UC San Diego team. Every single game is going to require a different game plan. The coaches do amazing jobs with the game plan before every game. I'm the veteran presence on this team. I like to think I'm in charge of leading this young group. So when they need me to do something, whatever this team needs me to do, that's what I'll do for them."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Guard Derin Saran had a team-high eight rebounds to go with six points and two assists
>Guard Tama Isaac totaled eight points on 3-7 shooting, knocking down two three-pointers. He had three assists and two rebounds
>Akiva McBirney-Griffin made the start and had five rebounds and a block, steal and assist
>Freshman Nes Emeneke grabbed five rebounds, four on the defensive side
>The Anteaters out-rebounded the Tritons 44-40
>UCI committed a season-low eight fouls and matched the season low in free throws made with seven 
>UC San Diego (15-6, 5-4) drained nine three-pointers
>UCSD's Leo Beath had a game-best 16 points and 10 rebounds

FIRST HALF
>UCSD made the first move, going on a 7-0 run to take a 10-4 lead before Jurian Dixon got a jumper to go, ending the Triton hot stretch, 6-10 (16:07)
>San Diego built up an eight-point lead before a 10-0 run by the Anteaters, headlined by two Andre Henry three-pointers gave UCI an 18-16 lead (9:05)
>Kyle Evans got his NCAA-leading 65th block of the season, going up with two hands and rejecting a UCSD shot off of a Triton player to give UCI possession (7:04)
>An 8-0 UCSD scoring run put the Tritons back ahead 26-24 before a Derin Saran layup broke a multi-minute long Anteater scoreless stint, 26-26 (1:14)
>The half closed with each team making a bucket, the last by Saran with 46 seconds before the break, 28-28

SECOND HALF
>UC Irvine started quick in the second half, scoring on all four of its initial possessions, capping off the stretch with a 7-0 run and Tama Isaac three-pointer, 37-31(17:58)
>The Anteaters maintained a multi-possession lead (47-42) headed into the half's second media timeout, with Henry drawing a shooting foul right before the break (12:13)
>A 7-0 run by UCSD in just over a minute got the Tritons back in the game quickly, but was ended by an Akiva McBirney-Griffin free throw, 52-49 (9:18)
>San Diego continued to keep the deficit small, getting two quick buckets to force a UC Irvine timeout and cut the lead to 57-55 (4:56)
>UCI snapped a multi-minute scoring drought and 6-0 UCSD run with a pair of Harrison Carrington free throws, 59-57 (3:56)
>With the score tied at 59 and no team scoring for over three minutes, Dixon got a layup to go in transition to give the Anteaters a 61-59 lead with 28 seconds left
>The Anteaters got two stops down the stretch, including the final three-point attempt at the buzzer to secure its seventh conference victory and second straight win in San Diego 

NOTES
>Evans has totaled three or more blocks 13 times this season and leads the country with 67 overall
>Carrington has posted double-figure points in three consecutive games
>UC Irvine closes out four consecutive road contests with two straight wins

UP NEXT
UC Irvine returns home to host Hawaii Thursday (Jan. 29) in a showdown of the Big West's top two teams. The game will tip at 8:00 p.m. and be broadcast on ESPNU.