IRVINE — The UC Irvine men’s basketball team found itself in a back-and-forth battle against a feisty Jacksonville State squad on Sunday night, but the Anteaters took control with a late surge to win the NIT second-round game, 66-61, at the Bren Events Center.

Neither team was able to maintain momentum for very long, but top-seeded UCI outscored the Gamecocks 13-6 in the final 5:20 to pull away. The Anteaters went 7 for 7 at the free-throw line down the stretch, while Jacksonville shot 3 for 7 at the foul line, to secure a spot in the quarterfinals of the 32-team tournament.

UCI (30-6) will play host to UAB on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in a game that will be broadcast on ESPN2. The Blazers defeated Santa Clara, 88-84, on Sunday at Santa Clara, which was the No. 2 seed in this quarter of the bracket.

“I’m super proud of my squad,” UCI coach Russell Turner said. “With tonight’s performance, to gut it out against a really fine Jacksonville State team, who put up a great fight.”

Justin Hohn scored a season-high 22 points, including four 3-pointers, and made several key shots and free throws to help UCI close out the win.

“Honestly, I kind of just get lost in it in a good way,” said Hohn, who shot 7 for 15 from the field and 4 for 5 from the free-throw line. “I’m just out there competing with my brothers who have been in a handful of them for multiple years.”

With the victory, UCI reached a significant milestone, securing the second 30-win season in program history, both of which have come under Turner. The Anteaters are just the eighth team in the nation to reach 30 wins this season.

“I know how rare that is,” said Turner, whose 2018-19 squad went 31-6 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. “I know that milestone doesn’t get reached often and we’re still playing. We’re going to have another home game and I’m excited for that for this community.”

UCI’s Ben Egbo scored on back-to-back layups, with the second coming on an outstanding pass from Devin Tillis to give the Anteaters a 53-47 lead with nine minutes left.

But the Anteaters couldn’t build on the momentum and gave up a 6-0 run that allowed the Gamecocks (23-13) to tie the score again.

UCI center Bent Leuchten scored on a baby hook, was fouled and hit the free throw for a 56-55 lead with 5:20 left. After Jacksonville came up empty on a key possession, Tillis scored on a second-chance attempt for a 58-55 lead, then Leuchten hit a pair of free throws for a five-point lead with just over four minutes left.

UCI led 62-58 with 90 seconds remaining when Jacksonville’s Mason Nicholson missed a pair of free throws. The Anteaters ran the clock down on the ensuing possession and grabbed an offensive rebound that allowed them to take even more time off the clock.

From there, it was a matter of making free throws to put the game away, with Myles Che and Hohn each making a pair in the final 37 seconds.

“Credit to them for the energy and effort that they laid out there on a really tough travel game for them,” Turner said of the Gamecocks. “That was a big factor in tonight’s game. We wore them down and made the plays that we needed to make at the end of the game.”

Leuchten finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, while Che had 11 points and Tillis grabbed a team-high nine rebounds for UCI, which lost to UC San Diego in the Big West Tournament title game.

The Gamecocks’ Jason Pierre, a redshirt senior who came in averaging 21.8 points per game and scored 30 in an 81-64 first-round upset of Georgia Tech, had 15 points and 11 rebounds to pace Jacksonville on Sunday.

UCI – in the NIT for the third consecutive year – is making its ninth appearance in the event overall, but this is the Anteaters’ first appearance as one of the four No. 1 seeds.

The Anteaters’ 82-72 first-round victory over Northern Colorado last week was their first NIT win since an 80-74 victory over UCLA on March 13, 1986.

Jacksonville State lost to Liberty, 79-67, in the Conference USA Tournament title game.

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