IRVINE, Calif. — Myles Che led UC Irvine to a 70-60 victory over Long Beach State on Saturday night, contributing 19 points to secure the win. Che was efficient, hitting 5 of his 10 shots, including one from beyond the arc, and making 8 out of 10 attempts from the free-throw line for the Anteaters, who improved to a 25-5 overall record while standing at 15-3 in the Big West Conference.
Justin Hohn added 14 points for UC Irvine, converting 4 of 9 shots overall and 2 of 6 from three-point land, and made all 4 of his free-throw attempts. Bent Leuchten also contributed significantly, scoring 13 points by making 5 of 8 from the field and hitting 2 of 4 shots from the charity stripe.
Currently, UC Irvine finds itself just one game behind conference leader UC San Diego with only two games left in their regular-season schedule. The Anteaters have managed to claim at least a share in the previous two regular-season conference championships and have secured the title in four of the past six seasons.
Long Beach State, struggling this season with a record of 7-23 and 3-15 in conference play, was led by Devin Askew. He managed to score 25 points and record three steals. Kam Martin was another key contributor for the Beach, adding 10 points to the team’s total. Additionally, Jason Hart Jr. scored seven points while dishing out five assists. This game marked the 13th consecutive loss for Long Beach State.
As both teams prepare for their next matches on Thursday, UC Irvine will be traveling to face UC Davis, while Long Beach State will head on the road to play against UC San Diego.
