Jester Jr. Leads Anteaters Past San José State, 91-79

Saturday, November 7

Irvine, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

UC Irvine

2-0,0-0Big West

San José State

1-1,0-0Mountain West

Team	1	2	F
San Jose St.	31	48	79
UC Irvine	51	40	91

November 07, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Jovan Jester Jr. scores 24 points as UC Irvine leads wire to wire to improve to 2-0

IRVINE, Calif. -- Jovan Jester Jr. scored 24 points and UC Irvine opened with 13 unanswered points to hold off San José State, 91-79, Saturday evening at the Bren Events Center.

The Anteaters never trailed, building a 20-point halftime advantage and leading by as many as 23 in the second half. UCI controlled the glass, 46-24, and scored 44 points in the paint to improve to 2-0. The Spartans dropped to 1-1.

Jester Jr. shot 8-of-12 from the field and added eight rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block. Nils Cooper contributed 15 points and two steals, while Tama Isaac finished with 14 points, eight assists and five rebounds. Josiah Johnson rounded out four Anteaters in double figures with 13 points and three assists off the bench.

Nes Emeneke anchored the interior defense with five blocks to tie his career-high, as well as a team-leading nine rebounds in 17 minutes. Olivier Rioux added seven points and seven boards, and Parker Spees supplied six points and four offensive rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Jester Jr. set the tone immediately, opening the scoring with a three-pointer before assisting on Isaac's triple and adding a layup for an 8-0 advantage. Cooper followed with a free throw, and Isaac's transition layup and two Jester Jr. free throws extended the opening surge to 13-0 with 16:32 remaining in the opening half.

The Spartans missed their first 6 field-goal attempts and did not score until a pair of free throws at the 16:21 mark.

San José State trimmed the margin to 15-7, but UCI's reserves helped push the lead back to 15. Emeneke blocked shots on consecutive Spartan possessions, with Spees and Johnson converting at the other end. Torian Lee then connected from three-point range to make it 22-7.

Emeneke collected eight rebounds and four blocks before halftime, helping the Anteaters double up the Spartans on the glass, 28-14. UCI paired that interior defense with 52.8 percent shooting in the opening period.

Jester Jr. knocked down his second three-pointer with 2:28 remaining, and Rioux followed with a dunk off an Isaac assist. Johnson's floater pushed the advantage to 51-29 before a late Spartan basket sent the teams into halftime with UCI ahead, 51-31.

After San José State scored the first four points of the second half, Jester Jr. answered with a putback. Langston Redfield followed with a three-pointer, and Jester Jr. drove for another basket to give the Anteaters their largest lead, 58-35, at the 16:49 mark in the final frame.

The Spartans began chipping away behind their perimeter shooting, pulling within 67-52 midway through the half. UCI responded with a Redfield layup, a Cooper three-point play and another Rioux dunk to maintain its cushion.

Joey Chammaa brought San José State within 76-64 with five minutes remaining, but Jester Jr. came up with a steal and took it the other way for a layup. Cooper added a basket off an Isaac assist, and another Jester Jr. jumper made it 82-66. Johnson then buried a three-pointer to extend the lead to 85-68 with a little over two minutes left in play.

San José State made one final push, using consecutive three-pointers to close within 87-79 with 32 seconds remaining. Isaac sank both free throws on UCI's next possession, Cooper blocked a Cook three-point attempt, and Johnson secured the rebound before adding two more free throws to seal the victory.

NOTES

Jester Jr. scored 14 points in the first half and ten in the second, finishing 8-of-12 from the field, 2-of-5 from three-point range and 6-of-8 at the line.
Isaac recorded four assists in each half and made all four of his free-throw attempts in the final minute.
Emeneke accounted for five of UC Irvine's seven blocks.
The Anteaters collected 16 offensive rebounds, with Emeneke and Spees grabbing four apiece.
UCI outscored San José State, 44-24, in the paint.
Johnson shot 5-of-9 from the floor as the Anteater bench contributed 26 points.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine continues its homestand against Lincoln at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at the Bren Events Center.