Press Conference
 
HENDERSON, Nev.  – In another battle that came down to the wire, UC Irvine came up just short in a 71-64 loss to Hawaii at the 2026 Credit Union 1 Big West Men's Basketball Championship at the Lee's Family Forum Saturday evening.

The Anteaters trailed by seven with 1:30 to play, before UCI rallied on five straight Kyle Evan's points to get within 64-66 with 38 seconds to play. Those would be the final points for the Anteaters as UH would score the final five.

Guards Jurian Dixon and Derin Saran were named to the all-tournament team.  Dixon led UCI with 17 points hitting 6-15 from the floor, including two three pointers and 3-4 from the line. The redshirt sophomore also grabbed four rebounds and had three assists and three steals.

Saran totaled 13 points with five rebounds, two assists and two steals. He totaled 36 points over the two tournament games.

Forward Kyle Evans recorded his 11^th double-double of the season with 13 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. He went 5-10 from the floor and 3-3 from the line plus three blocks.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Graduate student Andre Henry added 12 points, knocking down two three-pointers. He had two rebounds and an assist
>Forward Harrison Carrington totaled four points, three rebounds and a steal
>Jovan Jester Jr. had three points, three assists and two steals
>UCI shot 36.1 percent for the game (22-61), the fourth lowest of the season
>Hawaii out-rebounded UCI 43-36
>The 'Bows were led by Isaac Johnson's 22 points and Harry Rouhliadeff's 15 points and 12 rebounds
>UH shot 40.9 percent (27-66) with eight three-pointers

FIRST HALF
>Both teams traded stops to start play before a Jurian Dixon layup and a pair of free throws from Derin Saran pushed the Anteaters out to an early 4-0 lead (17:50)
>A low-scoring affair continued as Hawai'i hit a three-pointer to send the half into its second timeout with the Rainbow Warriors up 11-8 (11:38)
>Hawai'i grew its lead to eight with back-to-back triples, but UC Irvine responded with a steal and score by Saran, starting a 6-0 UCI run. After the layup, the Anteaters added a pair of free throws from Saran and a jumper from Dixon to cut the deficit down to 21-19 (5:18)
>UCI got a three to go from Dixon and a pair of free throws to take its first lead (28-27) since the game's opening minutes (2:22)
>The period closed with four points for Hawai'i and a layup in transition from Jovan Jester Jr. to send the game into halftime with a 31-30 UH advantage

SECOND HALF
>The Anteaters got a stop followed by a Dixon three-pointer on offense to begin the half, taking a 33-31 lead (19:29)
>Hawai'i fought back, taking a six-point lead before Andre Henry put in a three for the Anteaters to cut the lead in half and put the score at 44-41 in favor of the 'Bows (14:50)
>UCI briefly tied the game at 44, but two threes from the Rainbow Warriors and a two-pointer from Saran sent the half into its second media timeout with the Anteaters trailing 46-50 (11:26)
>Hawai'i scored seven straight, but a layup from Kyle Evans followed by a Saran bucket at the rim forced a UH timeout and cut Hawaii's lead down to 54-57 (6:52)
>Hawaii built a seven point lead before Evans got an and-one layup to go, then UCI got a steal and score with Evans putting a layup in, 64-66 with 38 second left
>Hawaii closed the game with the final five points for the 71-64 final score

NOTES
>It is UCI's first loss to Hawaii at the championship (3-1)
>Evans leads the country in blocks with 113
>Hawaii out-scored UCI 34-24 in the paint
> The lead changed seven times and was tied seven times

UP NEXT
UC Irvine will wait for the NIT announcement tomorrow for its next opponent.