RV UCI Men’s Basketball wins conference opener, defeats Bakersfield 82-66

The RV UC Irvine Men’s Basketball team (9-0, 1-0) defeated Cal State Bakersfield (4-5, 0-1) 82-66 in their conference opener at the Bren Events Center on Dec. 5. 

UCI started slow, failing to score on their first few possessions and giving up two easy buckets to trail 4-0 in the game’s first two minutes. Despite the early cold streak, Irvine eventually leveled itself with a layup out of a post-up opportunity by redshirt senior forward Devin Tillis. The Anteaters followed up the score by stringing together stops and getting to the free-throw line. 

Bakersfield did not score for around three minutes after their early lead, breaking their scoring drought with a transition layup by junior guard Jemel Jones, who scored all six of the Roadrunners’ points early on.

UCI senior center Bent Leuchten responded with a layup of his own, this time out of an isolation in the post. CSUB redshirt sophomore center Shakir Odunewu forced a timeout from the Anteaters after an emphatic putback jam. 

The ‘Eaters continued to play solid coverage on Bakersfield pick-and-rolls, refusing to switch on screens and securing rebounds after the Roadrunners’ missed attempts. 

The two Big West schools traded three-point attempts, with Bakersfield senior guard Marvin McGhee III hitting on his transition attempt and UCI redshirt freshman guard Jurian Dixon getting fouled on his, hitting two shots at the line. After a CSUB traveling violation, a timeout was called with the score level at 11.

UCI forced two straight turnovers on defense, courtesy of defensive pressure from graduate student guard Ofure Ujadughele. Irvine capitalized on the turnover after junior forward Kyle Evans put back an Anteater miss to re-tie the game at 13 with half the period to go. 

A timely entry pass from graduate student guard Justin Hohn resulted in another Evans layup, giving Irvine a 15-13 lead. After free throws from CSUB tied the game, Hohn hit a stepback three from the left wing to separate from Bakersfield again. 

CSUB refused to go away, getting a mid-range jumper from junior guard/forward Corey Stephenson to give the Roadrunners their first lead since the opening minutes of the game. 

Hohn continued to fire from distance, draining another three that resulted in a Bakersfield timeout. After UCI continued to string together defensive stops, Hohn curled off a screen and connected from three again — giving the ‘Eaters a seven point lead.

The Roadrunners refused to let UCI put up a double-digit lead, with Stephenson capitalizing off of a cut to slam it home, cutting the Anteater lead to four. After both sides traded buckets and fouls, CSUB redshirt sophomore guard/forward Jaden Alexander drew a shooting foul and drained both free throw attempts to trigger yet another tie in the first half. 

Hohn ended the half with a triple off of a sidelines out-of-bounds play, giving the Anteaters a five-point lead to close the period. He finished the half with 15 points. 

The second half opened with two free throws by CSUB’s Stephenson and a corner three from McGhee III to secure the game’s sixth tie. 

Dixon answered with a layup driving from the left side — the San Diego native started the half in place of graduate guard Andre Henry, who left the game in the first period with an injury. 

Hohn continued to deliver for the Anteaters, finding a streaking Evans in transition for the layup. The pair connected again off of a pick-and-roll lay-in right before Evans sent a Bakersfield shot attempt into the stands. 

Jones extended his point total to 20 with a putback layup, giving Bakersfield a three-point lead, their largest of the half up until that point. 

Hohn responded with a finish of his own, slashing in for the and-one opportunity and converting from the line to even the score at 52.

After drawing an offensive foul on Bakersfield, UCI added two points from a pair of Leuchten free throws, giving UCI a 54-52 lead. 

Both teams went on a minutes-long scoring drought in the middle of the second half. The dry spell was broken with a Leuchten post-up layup to give UCI a four-point lead. The German national hit two more free throws after a UCI stop to push the lead to six with just over six minutes to go in the second period. Dixon extended the run to eight with a pull-up jumper from the right short corner, giving UCI an eight-point lead, their largest of the night to that point. 

Stephenson stopped the bleeding for the Roadrunners with a turnaround jumper, bringing the score to 62-56 UCI with 5 minutes remaining.

Dixon’s defensive activity in the passing lane resulted in a steal and an emphatic two-hand jam, giving the ‘Eaters a 10-point lead. 

After Bakersfield cut the lead to single digits, Anteater sophomore guard Myles Che pushed the lead back to 10 for UCI with a fadeaway jumper in the lane with three minutes to go. 

Leuchten hit a three with under two minutes, thus pushing the lead to 13 and effectively icing the game for the Anteaters.

Hohn led UCI scorers with 18 points. The South Dakota native also added a career-high eight assists. Hohn spoke about his impact on UCI’s conference opener in a new role after redshirt junior guard Langston Redfield was ruled out for the year with a knee injury. 

“[The coaching staff] asked me to kind of step up into [a] more point guard role tonight,” Hohn said in an interview with New University. “I just stayed aggressive and my teammates got open and I just made the simple plays.”

UCI Head Coach Russell Turner talked about players stepping up when their name is called. 

“We believe that the guys that are deeper in our roster can play and will step forward when the opportunity comes,” Turner told New University. 

Dixon in particular saw an increase in minutes in the second half, and Coach Turner noted his impact on the defensive end.

“This was the best defensive game [Dixon has] had by a lot,” Turner said. “He took the challenge of guarding a high-usage player and high-scorer on their team and I thought he did a really fine job.” 

UCI resumes non-conference play against the Pac 12’s Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore. on Dec. 14. 

Jacob Ramos is a 2024-2025 Managing Editor. He can be reached at jacobtr@uci.edu

Jaden Hunter is a Sports Staff Writer. He can be reached at jadenh2@uci.edu.

Edited by Jack Fedor.

- Advertisement -

Read More New U