IRVINE — There’s no place like home for the UC Irvine men’s basketball team, which has turned the Bren Events Center into a house of horrors for opposing teams.
Devin Tillis had 21 points and Bent Leuchten and Jurian Dixon each scored 15, as the Anteaters roared past Cal Poly, 101-71, on Saturday night to set a program record with their 20th consecutive home win. It was the seventh straight win for UCI (17-2 overall, 7-0 Big West), which has not lost on its home court since a Feb. 23, 2023 game against UC San Diego.
“It is meaningful to the players to be a part of something they can point to, and I think that is awesome especially for these veterans,” UCI coach Russell Turner said of the home streak. “Building this community and this university’s reputation is a big part of what we understand that we are expected to do. It is fun to get the support that we are right now from our students, and I hope that we can continue to grow that.”
The Anteaters (17-2, 7-0 Big West Conference) set a season high for points and now have a two-game lead on second-place UCSD (15-4, 5-2) after the Tritons lost at UC Riverside.
Cal Poly tends to live and die by the 3-point shot and got off to a strong start with eight 3-pointers before halftime. The last-place Mustangs (6-14, 0-8) led UCI by eight points in the opening five minutes and were in front 21-14 with 12:45 left before a Torian Lee 3-pointer ignited a 15-2 Anteaters run. UCI built a 45-35 lead by halftime then dominated the second half.
The Anteaters opened the second half with a 10-0 run and controlled the game the rest of the way. Cal Poly got within 75-60 midway through the half, then UCI hit the Mustangs with a 14-0 blitz to remove any threat of a late comeback.
“Cal Poly came out with an incredible level of intensity to start this game which you can expect, and they made an interesting adjustment with their five-man,” Turner said. “It confused us and affected our transition matchups. We wore them down and we have a lot of guys who are willing defenders. We were more solid this game after giving up 89 points at their place (in an overtime win). I thought everybody tonight had a great contribution.”
Tillis shot 7 for 9 from the field and added seven rebounds for the Anteaters. Bent Leuchten went 9 for 10 from the free-throw line and added eight rebounds. Dixon shot 5 for 9 from the field to go with seven rebounds and four steals.
“Throughout this year I have seen so many post coverages, and Coach Turner puts me in positions in practice to deal with that,” Tillis said. “We have five different guys in the starting lineup that can all score, so it is a lot easier to get a bucket when they have to focus on all of us.”
Justin Hohn added 11 points for UCI, which shot 53.1% from the feld, 9 for 21 from 3-point range and 24 for 26 from the free-throw line. Myles Che had 10 points and six assists and Berk Can Akin contributed 10 points.
UCI outrebounded Cal Poly 44-33, outscored the Mustangs 46-20 in the paint and had a 23-14 advantage in points off turnovers.
“When we lock in defensively, we can beat anyone in the country,” Tillis added.
Cayden Ward had 15 points and eight rebounds and Peter Bandelj also scored 15 to lead the Mustangs, who shot 36.1% from the field (they took 34 of their 61 total shots from 3-point range) and had 20 turnovers. Owen Koonce added 14 points and five rebounds.
UP NEXT
UCI visits UC Riverside on Thursday at 7 p.m.
BIG WEST STANDINGS
Through Saturday, Jan. 18
UC Irvine – 17-2, 7-0
UC San Diego – 15-4, 5-2
UC Davis – 11-8, 5-3
CS Northridge – 12-6, 4-3
UC Santa Barbara – 12-6, 4-3
Hawaii – 12-6, 4-3
UC Riverside – 11-8, 4-3
CS Bakersfield – 9-10, 3-4
Long Beach State – 7-12, 3-4
CS Fullerton – 6-14, 1-7
Cal Poly (SLO) – 6-14, 0-8
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