Telepeer

UC Irvine routs Cal State Fullerton to keep Big West title hopes alive

February 28, 2025

UC Irvine guard Jurian Dixon, right, gets around Cal State Fullerton forward Kendrick De Luna to score during their Big West Conference game on Thursday night at Fullerton’s Titan Gym. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)

1 of 13

Expand

FULLERTON — In Thursday night’s game between the UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball teams, it was apparent early which team was near the top of the Big West standings and which team was at the bottom.

Jurian Dixon had a career-high 21 points, Justin Hohn scored 18 and Bent Leuchten had another double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) as UCI dominated both ends of the court and handed Fullerton its ninth consecutive loss, 76-51, at Titan Gym.

The Anteaters had a double-digit lead less than six minutes into the game, held a 20-point cushion at halftime and led by as much as 32 points in the second half, holding the lead for nearly 38 minutes.

UCI (24-5 overall, 14-3 Big West) had a season-high 11 blocked shots and held Fullerton (6-23, 1-16) to 38.2% shooting from the floor and a 3-for-16 showing from 3-point range to stay in the hunt for the Big West regular-season title and one of the top two seeds in the conference tournament.

UCI is one game behind first-place UC San Diego (25-4, 15-2) and two games ahead of third-place Cal State Northridge (20-8, 12-5) with three games left. The top two seeds in the 10-team Big West Tournament receive double byes into the semifinals.

Elijah Chol had a team-high five blocks for the Anteaters, matching his career-high from earlier this season against Duquesne. Leuchten added three and Kyle Evans had two.

“Defense is what we know we can do to separate ourselves from other teams,” UCI coach Russell Turner said. “We’ve been good on the road because we’ve had a good defensive mentality. We have some dynamic shot blockers. I feel good about the overall defensive effort.”

Turner’s comments about UCI being good on the road is an understatement. This was the Anteaters’ NCAA-best 12th road win of the season. They also have three wins at neutral sites and their 15 wins away from their home court are tied with UCSD for the most in the nation.

Dixon, a redshirt freshman, shot 9 for 11 from the field while pacing the offense and added three steals.

“Jurian is getting better and better,” Turner said. “I’m really excited for the way he both defends and makes unselfish plays on the offensive end. He’s coming into his own right before our eyes.”

UCI went on a 17-2 run early in the first half and added an 11-2 surge later in the half.

The Anteaters led by as many as 24 points in the first half and shot 58.6% from the field compared to just 25.8% from Fullerton.

UCI shot 6 for 13 from 3-point range in the first half and finished the night 10 for 28. Fullerton was daring UCI to shoot from outside in the first half and the Anteaters gladly accepted the open shots.

“Fullerton was packing the paint against us, challenging us to move the ball, find 3-point shooters with rhythm and knock them down,” Turner said. “That’s probably what I would have done if I were in their position, and we made them. We have guys who shoot at a really high percentage and we create good shots for one another.”

UCI’s dominant defense was even more impressive after the intermission. The Anteaters blocked seven shots and had eight steals in the second half.

Kendrick De Luna (10 points) was the only player to score in double-figures for Fullerton, which has lost its last three games by an average of nearly 31 points. Antwan Robinson added eight points and six rebounds, Donovan Oday had eight points and Kaleb Brown grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds.

UCI hosts Long Beach State on Saturday night in its final home game of the season. LBSU pushed UCI to overtime in their first meeting this season.

“(They) are a team whose record doesn’t indicate how good and dangerous they can be,” Turner said. “We’re going to need to bring it.”

The Titans play at UCSD on Saturday night.

BIG WEST STANDINGS

Through Thursday, Feb. 27

UC San Diego – 25-4, 15-2

UC Irvine – 24-5, 14-3

CS Northridge – 20-8, 12-5

UC Riverside – 19-11, 12-6

UC Santa Barbara – 19-10, 11-7

UC Davis – 15-13, 9-8

CS Bakersfield – 13-17, 7-11

Hawaii – 14-14, 6-11

Cal Poly (SLO) – 11-18, 5-12

Long Beach State – 7-22, 3-14

CS Fullerton – 6-23, 1-16

UC Irvine routs Cal State Fullerton to keep Big West title hopes alive Orange County Register

News Details

UC Irvine routs Cal State Fullerton to keep Big West title hopes alive

BIG WEST STANDINGS

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

News

CONTACT INFO

QUICK LINKS

SERVICES

CURRENT NEWS