LA JOLLA, Calif. – In front of a sellout crowd Saturday night inside LionTree Arena, UC Irvine downed UC San Diego, 60-52, in a Big West battle featuring the league's top two defensive teams. Chris Howell had a career night with 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals for the Tritons (14-3, 4-1), who had their 12-game win streak snapped with the setback. Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones was UC San Diego's leading scorer with 17, and Nordin Kapic had a team high nine boards for the Tritons.
 
Bent Leuchten scored 23 and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Anteaters, who improved to 15-2 (5-0) with the win.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first half was back-and-forth in front of the capacity crowd, with four lead changes. UC San Diego was up 20-16 when UCI went on a 14-2 run over nearly four minutes to take a 30-22 advantage with 5 minutes left in the half – the biggest first half lead for either side.
 
With nine seconds on the clock, Howell came away with a steal and Aidan Burke buried a three just before time expired, drawing the Tritons to within two at the break.
 

Aidan Burke takes us into halftime with THIS kind of energy. ??

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— UC San Diego Men's Hoops (@UCSDmbb) January 12, 2025

UC Irvine led, 34-32, at half. Howell had eight points and a career-high four steals over the first 20 minutes for UC San Diego. UC Irvine's Myles Che was the leading scorer with 10.
 
UC San Diego's defense clamped down after halftime as the Anteaters missed 12 consecutive shots. On the other end, Howell, drained a three to put the Tritons back on top, 40-38, with 13:00 remaining.
 
The Anteaters got going and scored 12 of the game's next 14 points to go back up four, 50-46. UC Irvine never trailed from that point.
 
QUOTABLE


TRITON TIDBITS

• The sellout crowd of 4,000 was UC San Diego's second in its Division I era (vs. San Diego State, Dec. 1, 2023).
• The Tritons fell to 3-3 this season when trailing at halftime.
• UC San Diego's 52 points marked the team's lowest offensive output this season.
• The Tritons forced 12 turnovers and committed just seven. UC San Diego has won the turnover battle in 16 of its 17 games.
• These two teams have split the regular season series in each of the last two seasons.

 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego plays a pair of Big West opponents on the road next week. On Thursday, the Tritons visit Long Beach State. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. with a live broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats on UCSDTritons.com.
 
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Divisions I and II.