LA JOLLA — Stingy defense and a clutch basket in the final 30 seconds helped the UC Irvine men’s basketball team to a critical Big West win.
Jurian Dixon made a go-ahead floater with 29 seconds left, and UC Irvine held UC San Diego scoreless for the final 3:47 to earn a 61-59 victory on Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd of 4,000 at LionTree Arena.
The win – in their fourth straight road game over a two-week stretch – keeps the Anteaters (14-7 overall, 7-2 Big West) tied atop the conference standings with Hawaii (15-4, 7-2) with the teams set to square off Thursday night at the Bren Events Center.
“I’m excited to win for these guys at the end of a four-game road trip. That’s a really tough assignment that the conference gave us,” UCI coach Russell Turner said. “We came out with a competitive mindset and made enough plays to win against a really good San Diego team. We won this one last year [in San Diego] too, and then they got us later in the season in the more important games, but we know we have to keep getting better.”
Dixon (6-for-17 shooting) and Andre Henry both finished with 12 points for UCI, while Kyle Evans added 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots and Harrison Carrington had 10 points and five rebounds. Tama Isaac had eight points, while Derin Saran added six points and a team-high eight rebounds.
The Anteaters shot 40.3% from the field (25 for 62) and held the Tritons to just 33.8% (22 for 65).
“I feel good. The last time we were in that situation, Hawaii hit a big shot to beat us, so it feels good to learn from my mistakes and come out with a hard, tough-fought win against a really good UC San Diego team,” said Henry, who shot 4 for 8 from the field (2 for 4 from 3-point range). “I’m the veteran presence on this team. I like to think I’m in charge of leading this young group, so when they need me to do something, whatever this team needs me to do, that’s what I’ll do for them.”
Leo Beath had game-highs of 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead UCSD (15-6, 5-4). Hudson Mayes added 12 points, while Tom Beattie finished with eight points, seven rebounds and two steals and Emanuel Prospere II added eight points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
UCSD, energized by the home crowd, built an early eight-point lead on the strength of four 3-pointers before a 10-0 UCI run by fueled by two Henry 3-pointers gave UCI an 18-16 edge midway through the first half. The teams remained tight from there for a 28-28 deadlock at halftime.
Each team had a 7-0 run early in the second half, and the Anteaters moved ahead 49-42 – their largest lead – with 11:58 to play. UCI held a 52-49 lead with 9:18 left, but went through a brief scoring drought while UCSD went on a 6-0 run to tie the score at 57-all with 4:16 left.
With the score tied at 59 and neither team scoring for more than three minutes, Dixon finally got his go-ahead basket in transition with 28 seconds remaining. The Anteaters got two stops down the stretch, including the final 3-point attempt at the buzzer to secure their second straight win at UCSD.
UP NEXT
UC Irvine hosts Hawaii in a battle of first-place teams on Thursday at 8 p.m. (ESPNU)
BIG WEST STANDINGS
Through Saturday, Jan. 24
Team – Overall, Big West
Hawaii – 15-4, 7-2
UC Irvine – 14-7, 7-2
UC Santa Barbara – 13-7, 6-3
UC San Diego – 15-6, 5-4
UC Davis – 12-8, 5-4
Cal State Fullerton – 10-12, 5-5
Long Beach State – 8-13, 4-5
Cal State Northridge – 11-10, 4-5
Cal Poly (SLO) – 7-14, 3-6
Cal State Bakersfield – 8-13, 2-7
UC Riverside – 7-14, 2-7
Jurian for the lead!! #RipEm pic.twitter.com/u97HHiXi6H
— UCI Men's Basketball (@UCImbb) January 25, 2026
