SAN DIEGO — The UC Irvine men’s basketball team again proved it can grind its way to a win when needed, riding DJ Davis’ 14 points off the bench and another stingy defensive effort to a 56-50 nonconference win against UC San Diego on Tuesday night at RIMAC Arena.

Davis, a sophomore guard, went 3 for 7 from the floor (2 for 5 from 3-point range) and was 6 for 6 from the free-throw line, knocking down four critical foul shots in the final two minutes. The Anteaters finished 14 for 16 from the free-throw line, converting all eight of their attempts in the final 3:06.

Dawson Baker added 11 points for UCI (12-7 overall), which won its sixth consecutive game in its final tuneup before a critical Big West Conference game against Hawaii on Saturday. Collin Welp had nine points, four rebounds and four assists, while Austin Johnson added six points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots. Justin Hohn had seven points.

Toni Rocak had 20 points and seven rebounds for the Tritons (11-13), and Francis Nwaokorie added nine rebounds and three blocks. Bryce Pope (13 ppg) was heled to just five points on 2-of-12 shooting.

Both teams struggled from the field, with UCI shooting 34% (18 for 53) and UCSD going 18 for 59 (30.5%). The Anteaters, who lead the nation in 3-point defense, held UCSD to a 6-for-25 mark (24%) from behind the arc.

The game was tight throughout, and Rocak got the Tritons within 46-41 when he converted a three-point play with 3:28 left, but two free throws each from Welp and Davis extended the margin back to nine points with two minutes left.

UCSD got back-to-back 3-pointers from Jake Killingsworth and Bryce Pope in a 30-second span to cut UCI’s lead to 50-47 with 1:22 left. Baker added a pair of free throws with 1:01 left, but the Tritons’ Jace Roquemore was fouled behind the arc and made all three free throws to cut the margin to 52-50 with 41.3 seconds left.

A UCI offensive foul gave UCSD the ball back with 23.7 seconds left, but the Tritons missed long on a 3-point try and Davis tied up the rebound to give the Anteaters possession. He converted two more free throws with 14.8 seconds left to push the margin back to four points.

One last UCSD 3-point attempt bounced off the rim and was collected by Davis, who launched the ball up the court to JC Butler for a layup with three seconds left that capped the scoring.

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“We came on the road and found a way to get a win. Defensively we were good tonight. We were able to frustrate them and wear them down enough to come away with the win,” UCI coach Russell Turner said. “It’s hard to win here. This team makes themselves hard to play against.”

UCI improved to 10-0 this season when holding its opponent under 60 points, and this was the fourth time the Anteaters have held a team to 50 or less.

UCSD is transitioning to Division I and playing a Big West schedule this season, but those results do not count as conference games.

UP NEXT

UCI hosts Hawaii on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Bren Events Center. The game will be broadcast on Spectrum Sportsnet.