IRVINE — With head coach Russell Turner suspended, the UC Irvine men’s basketball team saw center Bent Leuchten return to the lineup and hit what proved to be the game-winning 3-pointer in a 55-54 victory over Cal Poly on Thursday night at the Bren Events Center.

Turner was suspended for one game for behavior during Saturday’s game at Long Beach State that violated the Big West Conference’s rules prohibiting unsportsmanlike conduct and uncivil behavior, according to the conference.

In a statement, the university said it “accepts and respects the Big West’s decision on Coach Turner” and that Turner will return to coach Saturday night’s game against UC Riverside.

“Our student-athletes and coaches are expected to – and strive to always – adhere to the highest level of sportsmanship and conduct,” the statement read.

A team spokesperson declined to elaborate on the exact actions that led to Turner’s suspension. Associate head coach Ryan Badrtalei, who filled in for Turner, called it “conduct that the conference deemed was unsportsmanlike.”

“We’re committed to growing through that,” Badrtalei said. “He’s committed to growing through that, and working as hard as we can to be better and to fulfill the expectations of the conference and our university.”

Turner, in his 13th season as UCI coach, was with the team during shootaround before the game, according to guard DJ Davis.

For UCI (16-8 overall, 9-3 Big West), Thursday’s win didn’t come easy against a Cal Poly team (7-18, 1-12 Big West) that has struggled.

Leading by one in the closing seconds, UCI came up with two defensive stops to seal the game. Pierre Cockrell contested a turnaround jumper by Kobe Sanders. But a Cal Poly offensive rebound gave Alimamy Koroma a mid-range look over Davis’ defense that barely grazed the rim.

Koroma immediately clapped his hands toward the official, asking for a foul, but Dean Keeler grabbed the rebound and was fouled with two seconds left. Keeler missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity, leading to a Cal Poly last-second desperation heave that was long.

Davis said when he saw the ball bounce to the opposite side, he knew he had to contest the shot if Koroma had possession in the paint because Koroma is a high-percentage shooter from that area.

UCI was coming off an overtime loss at Long Beach State last weekend.

“This week, coming after that game and not being able to close well in OT, we emphasized being able to close well,” Davis said. “We just came out with fire at the end, knowing that we needed the stop – and we got the stop.”

Davis led UCI with 16 points, and Dawson Baker added 12. Leuchten, UCI’s 7-foot German center, returned after missing the last eight games with a meniscus tear and had nine points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes, including a 3-pointer for a 55-50 lead with 1:37 left and the shot clock about to expire.

Chance Hunter had 13 points and Brantly Stevenson added 12 to lead the Mustangs, who lost their 12th consecutive game.

“We knew we had the right schemes,” Badrtalei said. “We had the right personnel to play whatever personnel that they had. We’ve got confidence in those situations. We focused on player-personnel tendencies, and the guys went out and executed.”

It was a defensive-minded game, as the Anteaters shot 35.4% from the field – their second-worst showing of the season – and Cal Poly shot 30.4%.

UCI had just two field goals midway through the first half but picked up the pace with a 14-0 run to take a 20-12 lead.

Baker, who led the Anteaters with 10 first-half points, hit back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch the advantage.

But Cal Poly ended the half on a 10-2 spurt, with a 3-pointer by Nick Fleming tying the game at 28-28 as the teams headed to the locker room.

Neither team led by more than eight points as the game remained close throughout the second half.

Leuchten adds a size dimension to the Anteaters’ roster as they try to chase down a Big West title. He was named Big West Player of the Week on Jan. 9 after scoring 31 points against UC Davis before the injury that sidelined him.

Leuchten had been averaging 10.4 points and 6.1 rebounds a game prior to his injury and had scored 15 points or more in his last four contests.

“He came back strong,” Davis said of Leuchten. “We expect nothing less from him. He’s a high-caliber player for us. He puts a big emphasis on our paint game, our biggest guy. So we’re glad he’s back.”

Davis added that the conference is “in trouble” with Leuchten’s return.

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UCI remains one game behind first-place UC Santa Barbara (19-4, 10-2) in the conference standings, with UC Riverside (16-9, 9-4) a half-game behind the Anteaters going into Saturday’s showdown.

Badrtalei, in his 17th season on the coaching staff, was emotional when describing winning as the acting coach.

“Nothing more than a stand-in tonight,” Badrtalei said. “Really, just proud of the guys, being able to handle whatever adversity comes with a change like this.”

Badrtalei thought the players wanted to play well almost “too badly.”

“I don’t know if that helped them or hurt them,” Badrtalei said. “In some ways, it hurt them a little bit because they were trying almost too hard to perform – rather than just let the plays come to them. But we overcame that.”

NOTES

Forward Devin Tillis added nine points and six rebounds for UCI and Pierre Crockrell II had eight assists. … In 2019, Turner apologized after calling Oregon player Louis King “Queen” during a game in the NCAA Tournament in an effort to distract King, which was met with criticism as being homophobic and sexist.