IRVINE — The UC Irvine men’s basketball team won’t have many good memories from the past month, but the Anteaters did end January on a high note.

The Anteaters jumped on Cal Poly from the opening tip and cruised to a 72-48 Big West Conference victory on Saturday night at the Bren Events Center.

Justin Hohn scored 13 points and Collin Welp had 10 for UCI (8-7 overall, 3-3 Big West), which rebounded from three consecutive losses to win both of its conference games this week.

“We all know we haven’t played particularly well for a stretch now, but I think we’re going to work to get back what we know we’ve got on this team,” UCI coach Russell Turner said. “This team is competitive, this team can defend at a high level. Tonight, I thought we were exceptionally unselfish, almost too unselfish at times.”

The Anteaters led by 12 points at halftime, but the Mustangs cut that deficit in half on a jumper by Brantly Stevenson that made it 37-31 with 13:45 left in the game.

JC Butler followed with five straight points for UCI and Cal Poly never got back within single digits the rest of the way.

“Now we get to have a good Sunday, where we can focus on getting better heading into a challenging week,” Turner said. “We’re just in January, we know that. There’s a long way to go in the season. I think our guys are focused on getting better. I do think there’s belief.”

The Anteaters shot 50.9% overall, but they were just 4 for 13 from 3-point range two nights after shooting 1 for 12 from behind the arc in a 57-52 victory over Cal State Bakersfield.

UCI also missed seven of 21 free-throw attempts, but the Anteaters weren’t as shaky from the line as the Mustangs, who shot 9 for 20.

“We’re going to shoot the ball better, from the floor and the free-throw line,” Turner said. “We did that tonight, and had a lot of good plays at the rim that were important for us.”

Neither team led by more than two points until Isaiah Lee hit a 3-pointer for an 11-6 UCI lead with 11:04 left in the first half.

UCI took its first double-digit lead on a 3-pointer by Hohn for a 20-8 lead.

Related Articles

The Mustangs answered with five straight points, but Bent Leuchten converted a three-point play to push the lead back to 25-14.

Butler scored on a drive to cap a 7-0 run and push the lead to 29-14, the biggest of the first half for the Anteaters, who eventually took a 31-19 advantage into the break.

Hohn, a redshirt sophomore point guard from Sioux Falls, S.D., had 11 points in the first half, the only player in double figures for both teams.

“You can see Justin’s talent. It’s undeniable if you watch him play, and he’s getting better, there’s no question about that,” Turner said. “He’s controlling the ball, he’s controlling the game like a great point guard is asked to do.”