The UC Irvine Men’s Basketball team (12-7, 5-2) was defeated, 75-72, by the UC Davis Aggies (11-7, 4-3) at the University Credit Union Center in Davis, Calif., on Jan. 17.
The Anteaters’ starting lineup consisted of redshirt sophomore guard Derin Saran, senior forward Kyle Evans, redshirt sophomore guard Jurian Dixon, freshman guard Tama Isaac and redshirt junior forward/center Elijah Chol.
Evans started the game off by taking home the first two points of the first half for the ‘Eaters, which was shortly followed by a three-pointer from Aggie junior guard Nils Cooper.
Evans was quickly able to get two more points and claimed all four UC Irvine points made three minutes into the game.
As both teams collected points, UC Davis took the opportunity to tie up the game a little over three minutes in with a three-pointer, 11-11.
After much back and forth, UC Irvine redshirt freshman guard Jovan Jester Jr. switched the lead to the Anteaters, with an assist from UCI redshirt junior forward Harrison Carrington giving them a one-point advantage, 17-16.
Dixon then got the ball and passed it to Evans, who missed the shot, allowing Aggie graduate forward Niko Rocak to steal it and score a three-pointer — giving UC Davis a four-point lead.
Although the ‘Eaters received multiple fouls, they tied up the score for the second time, 22-22, turning over the game again in the first half.
The Aggies later claimed another three-pointer, bringing the score to a short-lived 25-22.
Subsequently, Anteater graduate guard Andre Henry got possession of the ball and passed it to Evans, who then gave it to Jester Jr. The ‘Eaters claimed two more points in hopes to bridge the gap between them and UC Davis.
The Aggies later jumped to a nine-point lead and challenged UC Irvine’s defense . However, the Anteaters’ best rim protector Evans successfully blocked their next shot.
With the Aggies in the lead, Carrington made a great spin move, claiming his eighth point of the game.
In the next two minutes of the game, the Anteaters had a 7-0 run. Isaac earned two freethrow points, tying up the game near the end of the first half, 39-39.
Dixon quickly claimed a three-pointer in the final seconds of the first half, hoping to get the Anteaters ahead, but the Aggies followed with their own three-pointer — leaving the score 42-42 as the first half concluded.
In the beginning of the second half, UC Davis guard Cooper took two freethrow shots and missed both, leaving room for Isaac to get two points for the Anteaters in a 44-42 lead.
UC Davis jumped back ahead but missed their next three shots and became 0-4 from the free-throw line in the second half so far.
Both teams took turns leading until Aggie freshman forward Omer Suljanovic got a three-pointer and gave his team a five-point lead against the ‘Eaters.
Anteater Saran claimed two freethrow points trying to bridge the gap between the teams, but the Aggies followed up with several more points — leaving them up 56-51.
After some more back and forth, UC Irvine’s Jester Jr. drilled his second three-pointer of the game, tying it up again at 58-58.
With just under nine minutes left on the clock, Aggie Rocak claimed a three-pointer and gave a short-lived lead back to UC Davis, but Anteater Dixon tied up the score again with a three-pointer as well.
UC Davis freshman guard Marcus Wilson then earned two freethrow points, while Anteater Dixon tied the score with a two-point field goal and a freethrow point, giving UC Irvine the lead, 64-63.
The 10th tie of the game at 67-67 occurred with just under four minutes left on the clock, but the lead quickly turned over to the Anteaters by a freethrow point from Evans.
However, the Aggies took the lead again after a three-pointer from Rocak and two successful freethrows.
UC Irvine’s Dixon made a shot that was tapped in by Evans, leaving UC Davis with only a two-point lead nearing the end of the game.
Anteater Saran tapped in the ball thrown by Evans and claimed two more points for UC Irvine, but the Aggies still had a two-point lead, 74-72.
In the final minute of the game, the Aggies scored another freethrow point, giving them a three-point lead. Just as Anteater Dixon was left to make a successful three-pointer to tie up the game, he fell — leaving UC Davis victorious, 75-72.
UC Irvine now looks to their next game against UC Riverside on Jan. 22 to break their two-game losing streak and stay at the top in the Big West conference.
Cayley Mazer is a Sports Intern for the winter 2026 quarter. She can be reached at cmazer@uci.edu.
Edited by Jack Fedor and Riley Schnittger
