LOGAN, Utah — The shots that were falling in the first half stopped going in after halftime and UC Irvine could not keep up with Utah State after the intermission in a 79-69 loss on Saturday night.
Justin Hohn had 21 points to pace the Anteaters (6-3), while Dean Keeler had a career-high 15 points and two blocked shots. Derin Saran added 11 points and seven rebounds for UCI, which shot 58.6% (17 for 29) from the field in the first half but just 10 for 28 (35.7%) in the second half. Utah native Carter Welling added eight points for UCI, while Pierre Crockrell II had a season-high eight assists.
Freshman Mason Falslev had 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting (3 for 4 from 3-point range) to lead the more consistent Aggies (7-1). Utah State shot 50.8% overall, going 16 for 32 in the first half and 14 for 27 after the break in a game that featured 15 lead changes but only one after halftime.
Great Osobor had 17 points and Josh Uduje had 12 for the Aggies, while Falslev added five rebounds in their sixth consecutive win.
Hohn scored 10 points early as both teams got off to strong starts during a back-and-forth period. A Devin Tillis floater followed by a Keeler dunk and a second-chance basket for Saran gave UCI a 34-31 lead, but the teams eventually traded 3-pointers in the final minutes of the half and the Aggies led 42-41 at halftime.
A Welling three-point play gave UCI a 44-43 lead early in the second half, but Utah State went on a 6-0 run to open a 49-44 lead at 16:24 and never trailed again. UCI stayed close and a Keeler three-point play got the Anteaters within 53-51 before the Aggies used an 11-0 run to build a 66-51 advantage with 9:27 left.
Utah State led 74-61 before UCI used a Welling layup, a Crockrell pull-up jumper and a Saran layup to get within 74-67. The Aggies then scored five of the final seven points to close out the win.
UCI has lost two straight since its six-game winning streak.
UP NEXT
UCI faces 2023 NCAA Tournament runner-up San Diego State next Saturday (Dec. 9) at 7:30 p.m. at SDSU’s Viejas Arena.
