IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine's second half rally came up short in a 75-72 loss to UNLV in the first round of the NIT Tuesday at the Bren Events Center.

UNLV led by as many 18-points in the first half lead and took a 37-24 lead at the break.  UCI's 24 first half points are tied for the second fewest this season as the Anteaters shot 24.2 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes.

The Anteaters rallied on the strength of an 18-5 run, coming within three on several occasions, and trailed by five with 1:45 to play. Dunks by Harrison Carrington and Kyle Evans put UCI within three (70-73) with 38 seconds remaining. After UNLV missed the front and of and one twice, Jurian Dixon hit a pair of free throws to draw UCI to 72-73 with three seconds left.  UNLV's Kimani Hamilton sunk two free throws with two seconds on the clock and UCI was unable convert on their final possession.

UC Irvine ends the season 23-12 overall, the 16th time in program history with 20 or more wins.

HEAD COACH RUSSELL TURNER SAID:
"UNLV came in here and played an outstanding game and it was too much for us to overcome, but I was pleased that the spirit and character of my team was evident in the second half especially. I thought UNLV was outstanding … they've had impressive development over the course of this season as they've brought a group of guys together over time, like we were able to do. So congrats to them. ?It's difficult for our season to end at home. Nothing easy about that, but I'm really, really proud of these players and the staff for what we have accomplished this year, the growth in these guys, the connectivity that they feel, the bonds we built."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>UCI was led by Derin Saran with 18 points, going 7-18 from the floor, including two three-pointers and 2-2 from the line
>Senior Kyle Evans recorded is 12^th double-double of the season with game-high 13 rebounds and 11 points. Evans shot 5-10 from the field and 1-2 from the line. He also recorded two blocks
>Guard Jurian Dixon totaled 13 points, knocking down 7-8 from the free throw line.He had three rebounds, three assists and three steals
>Forward Harrison Carrington shot 7-11 from the floor for 14 points. He grabbed six rebounds  with two assists
>Guard Jovan Jester Jr. added five points, five steals, three assists and three rebounds
> UCI shot 58.6 percent (17-29) from the field in the second half and 40.3 percent (25-62) for the game
>The Anteaters went 19-25 from the free throw line
>Five Runnin' Rebels scored in double figure points led by Kimani Hamilton's 14 points followed by Isaac Williamson with 13, knocking down 4-8 from long range
>UNLV (18-16) shot 53.7 percent (29-54) for the game, the best mark from the floor against the Anteaters this season
>UNLV drained three-pointers to UCI's three
>UCI out-rebounded UNLV 37-35

FIRST HALF
>UC Irvine got a stop on defense before Akiva McBirney-Griffin drew a pair of free throws and hit both attempts to start the night's scoring (19:30)
>UNLV responded with eight straight points and had its run ended by another McBirney-Griffin free throw make, 8-3 (17:01)
>A 9-0 Las Vegas run put the Runnin' Rebels up 14 before Derin Saran got the Anteaters back on the board with a reverse layup on the break to put the score at 19-7 for UNLV (12:15)
>UNLV hit a triple to extend its lead to 29-11 headed into the half's third media timeout (7:52)
>UCI built some momentum, going on a 5-0 run starting with a jumper coming from Harrison Carrington. Jurian Dixon added a free throw and a floater to cut UNLV's lead to 29-16 (6:29)
>Carrington lit up the Bren with a dunk in transition to cut into the deficit, 22-34 (1:20)
>The half ended with another Carrington bucket and a UNLV layup as the horn sounded to send the game into break with UNLV leading 37-24

SECOND HALF
>Dixon found Kyle Evans over the top for a layup and drew a shooting foul on the next possession, starting the Anteaters with four quick points for the half, 28-37 (19:09)
>UCI quickly found themselves down 16 after a 5-0 UNLV run. The Anteaters responded with a 12-2 stretch, powered by two Saran threes, an Evans layup, a pair of free throws from Jovan Jester Jr. and a Dixon layup to cut the deficit to 50-44, UNLV (12:16)
>After UNLV put a three-pointer in, the Anteaters had another six straight, this time from a Saran two-pointer, pair of Dixon free throws and a Carrington layup to put the score at 53-50, UNLV (10:40)
>UNLV went on another run, but UCI got the deficit down to three again (62-59) with a Saran jumper and triple from Andre Henry (5:52)
>The Rebels rebuilt its advantage, taking a 70-63 lead headed into the final media timeout of the half (3:18)
>Evans and Carrington combined for three dunks to score six straight for the Anteaters and pull UCI within three with 28.3 seconds left in regulation. After some free throw misses from UNLV, Dixon went to the line and made both (72-73). On the other end, the Rebels made both attempts after being fouled and UCI couldn't convert on offense, ending the game with a 75-72 final score

NOTES
>Evans leads the nation with 115 blocks, setting a new UCI and Big West single season record
>UNLV has won the last five meetings against UCI
>UCI scored 40 of its points in the paint