UC Irvine Men’s Basketball (32-6, 17-3) defeated the University of North Texas (27-9, 14-4) 69-67 in the Final Four of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). The ESPN nationally televised game took place at the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
UC Irvine was coming off a victory against the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where the Anteaters won 81-77 in a gusty overtime battle. North Texas had taken down Oklahoma State in the third round of the NIT, 61-59.
North Texas senior guard Atin Wright, who had history with Irvine as a transfer from California State University, Northridge, got the Mean Green on the board with an off-balance three-pointer. Off a baseline out-of-bounds play, Wright received the handoff and cashed in his second three of the game.
The Mean Green’s hot start from distance continued with junior forward Grant Newell knocking down a three, forcing an Anteater timeout.
Irvine came out cold, similar to its previous game against UAB, going scoreless in the first four minutes. Turnovers also plagued head coach Russell Turner’s squad, which gave up four during the cold stretch.
North Texas extended its lead to 11 as Irvine was swarmed on the defensive end. The Mean Green defense moved on a string, communicating and trapping the ‘Eater ball handlers.
UCI’s first field goal of the game came at the 12:38 mark, with graduate student guard Justin Hohn stepping through for a floater in the lane. Freshman guard Torian Lee trimmed the lead down to eight with a catch-and-shoot corner three.
The Mean Green lead shot back up to 12 as senior forward Moulaye Sissoko grabbed the offensive rebound and finished the layup.
At the 9:18 mark in the first half, the Anteaters’ turnover total was seven — a testament to the elite North Texas defense, which ranked third in the nation in scoring defense coming into the game.
North Texas garnered its largest lead of the game on a three from senior guard Jasper Floyd, who punished Hohn for going under the Sissoko screen.
The Mean Green led 24-12 with 7:40 remaining in the first half. Wright extended the lead to 14 after hitting two freethrows from the charity stripe.
A 12-2 Irvine run, sparked by the defensive playmaking of the Anteater guards, cut the Mean Green lead to five.
Redshirt senior forward Devin Tillis came alive during this run, scoring nine points from various spots on the floor. Lee knocked down his second three of the game, cutting the North Texas lead to three.
Irvine tied the game at 30 apiece on a deep three from Tillis, forcing a timeout from North Texas head coach Ross Hodge, who will be the head coach at West Virginia next season.
The half ended in a 30-30 stalemate. Despite trailing by as many as 15 points, Irvine clawed its way back by taking care of the ball and letting its defense create offense.
On the first possession of the second half, North Texas ran a set play, freeing up Wright, who knocked down his third three-pointer of the game. Probing in the pick-and-roll, Wright scored on a midrange jumper, punishing Irvine’s drop coverage.
The momentum shifted in the Mean Green’s favor after senior guard Rondel Walker stripped the ball from Irvine senior center Bent Leuchten twice in the backcourt after the German 7-footer secured defensive rebounds.
Leuchten, Irvine’s leading scorer at 15.4 points per game, struggled from the field, going 0-for-4 through the first half and into the second.
After two missed opportunities on a fast break, junior forward Kyle Evans flushed down the putback jam. Sophomore guard Myles Che knocked down a three with a North Texas defender in his grill, tying the game at 38.
The Anteaters took their first lead of the game off a three from Hohn. A double technical foul was issued to Tillis and Sissoko at the 8:25 mark in the second half. Irvine responded with Leuchten threading the needle to Tillis to give the ‘Eaters a 47-45 lead.
Che scored his second triple of the contest on a corner three, forcing another timeout from North Texas. Out of the timeout, Floyd scored an off-leg layup over Leuchten, cutting the lead to three.
Floyd tied the game at 54 with 4:33 remaining on an and-one layup. Hohn immediately responded, hitting a stepback three with the shot clock expiring.
The two teams traded threes with under two minutes remaining. Che threw a skip pass to Hohn, who drilled the open triple.
With Irvine holding a 62-60 lead with 1:35 to go, Leuchten knocked down two freethrows to push the lead back up to four. Off a defensive rebound, Che threw a full-court pass to redshirt freshman guard Jurian Dixon, who was credited with the layup on a goaltend call.
North Texas sent Leuchten to the line with the score at 67-64 and 6.9 seconds left for a single bonus freethrow opportunity. The German native sank both freethrows, icing the game at 69-64. Wright connected on a corner three as time ran out, but it was too little, too late. UC Irvine came out on top 69-67.
The Anteater veterans closed the game strong. Tillis finished with a double-double — 16 points and 11 rebounds. Hohn, who scored only two points in the first half, finished with 12 points and eight assists, hitting big shots whenever UCI needed him in the clutch.
Coach Turner talked about the meaning of the moment and the team’s ability to close out the game.
“[I] appreciate everybody who’s here. The opportunity we had tonight to compete was special. Our team performed well down the stretch — enough to win — and I’m grateful for that,” Turner said in the postgame press conference.
UC Irvine will move on to the NIT championship game for the first time in school history. The Anteaters will face the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on April 3 in Indianapolis at 6 p.m. PST. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
The championship bout marks a full-circle moment for Che, who played his first year of college ball at Chattanooga. Che started in 16 games for the Mocs as a freshman.
Jaden Hunter is a Sports Staff Writer. He can be reached at jadenh2@uci.edu.
Edited by Jack Fedor and Jaheem Conley.