IRVINE — Coming off its first conference loss of the season, the UC Irvine men’s basketball team combined a fast start with stingy defense to get back in the win column.

The Anteaters scored the first 11 points of the game, held Hawaii to season-worst 31.1% shooting and turned back a second-half rally to secure a 71-55 win, their 21st consecutive victory at the Bren Events Center.

Myles Che had 17 points and five assists and Justin Hohn had 13 points (5-of-15 shooting) and five assists to lead UCI (18-3 overall, 8-1 Big West), which was coming off an 84-80 overtime loss at UC Riverside on Thursday. Kyle Evans matched his career high with 12 points (6-for-6 shooting) and had a career-best four blocked shots off the bench, while Devin Tillis had a double-double with 11 points (5-of-16 shooting) and a career-high 13 rebounds. Bent Leuchten contributed eight points and eight rebounds.

UCI shot 44.3% from the field, had 22 assists on its 27 field goals and outscored Hawaii 38-22 in the paint.

Sprinting out of the starting blocks, UCI led by 15 points twice in the first half before Hawaii (12-8, 4-5) began to chip away. The Rainbow Warriors actually got within seven at one point but the Anteaters took a 10-point lead (34-24) to the locker room at halftime.

The Anteaters built their lead back to 15 points on a Che 3-pointer and an Evans layup five minutes into the second half, but Hawaii responded with a 14-3 run to cut the margin to 48-44 on a pair of free throws with 10:15 left.

A pair of Hohn 3-pointers started an 11-0 UCI run that included free throws from Leuchten, Jurian Dixon and Che to re-establish a 15-point cushion at 59-44 with 7:09 left. Evans made a pair of layups – one from a staggering angle and one high off the glass – over the next two minutes and Hawaii never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

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Akira Jacobs had 12 points and five rebounds off the bench to lead the Warriors, who matched a season-low with their point total. Marcus Greene added eight points and Tanner Christensen contributed seven points and six rebounds. Hawaii’s leading scorer, Gytis Nemeiksa (13.8 ppg), was held to four points and eight rebounds on a night when the Warrior starters totaled just 18 points.

UP NEXT

UCI plays at Long Beach State on Thursday at 7 p.m.

BIG WEST STANDINGS

Through Saturday, Jan. 25

UC Irvine – 18-3, 8-1

UC San Diego – 17-4, 7-2

UC Riverside – 13-8, 6-3

UC Davis – 12-8, 6-3

CS Northridge – 13-7, 5-4

UC Santa Barbara – 13-7, 5-4

Hawaii – 12-8, 4-5

CS Bakersfield – 10-11, 4-5

Long Beach State – 7-14, 3-6

Cal Poly (SLO) – 7-14, 1-8

CS Fullerton – 6-16, 1-9