IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine dropped a 71-69 decision to UC San Diego in front of a crowd of 3,750 at the Bren Events Center Saturday evening.

The Anteaters (18-10, 11-5), who trailed by as many as 17 in the first half, rallied in the second, taking a 66-65 lead on a Jurian Dixon three-pointer with 2:05 to play. UCSD would score the next six points as UCI only managed another Dixon three-pointer as time expired.

Dixon had a game-best 22 points, shooting 9-18 from the floor, including 4-6 from deep. He had four assists, three rebounds and two steals.

Kyle Evans had his 10^th double-double of the year with 12 points and 12 rebounds. He went 6-12 from the floor and grabbed 10 defensive boards. The nation's leader in blocks rejected three to bring his total to 96, which moves him into second on the Big West season list, passing Pacific's Michael Olowokandi who had 95 in 1997-98.

HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER SAID:
"I'm disappointed that we weren't able to win tonight, but it was a good college basketball game and I give credit to San Diego for coming in here and being more competitive and tougher than we were. I do feel like that was the difference. They stretched the lead on us in the first half, because their level of play was outstanding. They approached the game like a championship game, which is what I've asked my team to consistently do. I don't feel like we've been able to do that consistently enough. We've lost four games at home this year, and that's a lot [for us]. I'm not crying about that. I'm just stating that as a fact because we have to get better, more competitive, mentally tougher and physically tougher because I thought that they were tougher than we were."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Guard Andre Henry went 6-12 from the floor and 3-5 from three for 15 points
>Forward Harrison Carrington recorded seven rebounds, six points and two assists
>Guard Derin Saran totaled five points, five rebounds and three assists
>Post player Akiva McBirney-Griffin added four points and two rebounds
>Overall, UC Irvine shot 41.8 percent (28-67) from the field, while UC San Diego was 44.1 percent (26-59).  The Tritons knocked down 10 threes, including seven in the first half. UCI hit eight from long range  
>The teams each had 36 rebounds
>UCSD (19-9, 9-7) was led by Hudson Mayes 17 points and eight rebounds

FIRST HALF
>After a quick Kyle Evans layup, UC San Diego got five quick points
>After a short scoring drought by each team, a Jurian Dixon put in a transition layup to slow down the Triton momentum, 4-5 (16:12)
>The Tritons went on a three-point spree, hitting four triples in a 2:53 span and going on a 13-0 run overall to take a 24-8 lead (8:34)
>UC Irvine ended the long scoring drought with an Andre Henry layup and Evans putback dunk to cut the deficit back down to 12, 12-24 (7:52)
> San Diego's threes continued to connect, putting the Anteaters down 32-15 with just under five minutes to go in the half
>The Anteaters begun the climb back into the game, getting a three from Derin Saran, a pair of free throws from Tama Isaac, three from Henry and an Evans layup to build a 10-0 run and cut the margin down to just seven, 25-32 (2:45)
>UCI and San Diego traded buckets in the last two minutes of the half, including an Evans jumper, to end the half with UCSD leading 36-29

SECOND HALF
>The Anteaters started the half with four points from Akiva McBirney-Griffin, who put in a pair of free throws and a layup. UCSD got a layup as well, putting the Tritons up 38-33 (17:45)
>UCI ripped off a 6-0 run, starting with a McBirney-Griffin layup and a pair of Dixon buckets to cut the San Diego lead down to just one, 36-37 (16:00)
>The Anteaters took their first lead (41-40) since the opening minutes of the game with a transition catch-and-shoot triple from Henry at 14:40
>Harrison Carrington and Jovan Jester Jr. lit up the packed Bren with a pair of dunks, tying the game at 47 (11:53)
>Both UCI and UCSD continued a tight battle with a Triton three-pointer and Dixon triple sending the half into its third media timeout with UC San Diego leading 54-52 (6:30)
>UCSD started to separate, going on a 6-2 run to up its advantage to 65-58 with a three-pointer (3:48)
>The Anteaters quickly responded, scoring eight straight to take the lead (66-65) after triples from Henry and Dixon and an Evans dunk (2:05)
>UC San Diego got a pair of layups and two free throw and held UCI to just a Dixon three-pointer as time expired for the 71-69 final

NOTES
>UCI committed eight turnovers, the second fewest for the Anteaters this season
>Dixon has led the team in scoring 13 times this season, scoring 20 or more for the fifth time
>Evans is now 10 blocks shy of tying Mamadou Ndiaye's school and Big West record of 106 set in 2013-14

UP NEXT
UC Irvine will make its final regular season road trip of the season, traveling to CSUN Thursday (Feb. 26) for a 7:00 p.m. game at the Premier America Credit Unio Arena.