UC Irvine outlasts Weber State men’s basketball in thrilling, 93-87 non-conference bout
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- Weber State forward Nigel Burris, right, drives against UC Irvine’s Devin Tillis on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State guard Blaise Threatt (0) defends UC Irvine guard Justin Hohn (2) on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State center Vasilije Vucinic (13) scores against UC Irvine on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State guard Trevor Hennig (6) defends UC Irvine’s Langston Redfield on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State head coach Eric Duft, right, gives instruction to players during a timeout against UC Irvine on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State guard Blaise Threatt (0) shoots over UC Irvine center Kyle Evans (14) on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s Dyson Koehler (4) shoots over UC Irvine center Bent Leuchten (15) on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s Dyson Koehler (4) defends UC Irvine guard Myles Che on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State guard Miguel Tomley (3) drives against UC Irvine’s Andre Henry (4) on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State guard Miguel Tomley (3) tries to shoot over UC Irvine’s Devin Tillis (11) on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State forward Dyson Koehler shoots a 3-pointer against UC Irvine on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State forward Nigel Burris shoots a 3-pointer against UC Irvine on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State guard Blaise Threatt, left, drives against UC Irvine’s Torian Lee, center, on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
OGDEN — UC Irvine has the potential, and now clear aspirations, to claim an at-large NCAA Tournament bid should the Big West season not result in a tournament title.
The Anteaters had yet to play a close game this season and, after shooting out to a 12-0 lead in 3 1/2 minutes Friday night at Weber State, it seemed that trend would continue.
But the Wildcats punched back, and kept punching back until time ran out on WSU’s repeated comeback bids. UC Irvine outlasted and answered each advance, claiming a 93-87 victory at the Dee Events Center to stay unbeaten.
WSU, still looking for its first win against a Division I opponent against what Irvine head coach Russell Turner called “a brutal schedule,” came away equal parts disappointed and encouraged by the outcome.
“They came out and punched us in the mouth and we responded well … but I think the biggest thing for our team is everyone needs to find a role and it starts with me. I’ve got to be a better leader,” said senior guard Blaise Threatt, who totaled 22 points, three rebounds, six assists and three steals on 9-of-18 shooting. “I wasn’t as good as I’m supposed to be and tonight I didn’t bring what I was supposed to.”
Dyson Koehler hit 5 of 8 from distance for 17 points, adding five rebounds for Weber State (1-4). Vasilije Vucinic added 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals from the center spot, Nigel Burris added 11 points and freshman guard Trevor Hennig brought a 10-point, three-rebound spark in 19 minutes off the bench.
WSU shot 31 of 63 overall and 13 of 25 from behind the arc, with a subpar 12-of-20 from the free-throw line.
For Irvine (5-0), 7-foot-1 Bent Leuchten racked up 29 points and 11 rebounds, blocked three shots, drew nine fouls and shot 10 of 14 at the foul line. Forward Devin Tillis was as efficient as it gets, totaling 15 points, 11 rebounds and four assists on 6-of-6 shooting. Guard Justin Hohn had 18 points and six assists, with three 3-pointers that all seemed monumental for the Anteaters.
Irvine was 31 of 61 from the field, including 9 of 16 from distance, and was 22 of 27 from the charity stripe.
After the 12-0 start, Weber State held Irvine to 6-of-24 shooting over the next 15 minutes. Swarming, active defense held the visitors in check, allowing WSU to erase the deficit and take a 30-29 lead with 55 seconds left in the first half on a Burris 3 dished from Miguel Tomley.
But Leuchten, the German who had made just 23 3-pointers in 80 career games, knocked down a triple that took of the lid for his team. Tillis scored inside, Irvine forced a Tomley travel with pressure, and a beautiful after-timeout inbound play lofted a crosscourt pass to Hohn for a 3 at the buzzer to put Irvine ahead 37-33 at the half.
Out of halftime, Threatt swished a tough 3 to beat the shot clock and fed Alex Tew for a floater to make it 40-38. Koehler made a high-flying block that led to another Tew floater, which he missed. Suddenly, Irvine was on a 12-2 run with a Tillis 3 and a Leuchten post-up for a 52-40 lead with 15 minutes left.
At the time, it felt like a possible knockout from a stronger team (UCI has a Ken Pomeroy rating of No. 61) batting away a pesky road opponent (Weber State is currently No. 234 due to a pair of blowout road losses). But WSU’s fight was relentless.
Koehler and Viljami Vartiainen hit consecutive 3s and Hennig scored five quick points on an and-one jumper and a throwahead layup after a Threatt steal. Another Koehler 3 and a Vucinic post-up had it to 59-58 with 11 minutes left until UC Irvine found some breathing room.
But it didn’t last long. Vucinic scored in the post, then tipped home a nearly missed putback dunk attempt to tie it 69-69 with 5:38 remaining.
WSU, 10 of 18 from distance to that point, saw a high-arcing Vucinic 3 to beat the shot clock and an open Threatt deep look both rattle out that would’ve brought Weber into a lead. Instead, out of the ensuing media timeout, the Anteaters burst to another 12-0 run for an 81-69 advantage with just 2:05 left, a rally that included another Hohn backbreaking 3.
Somehow, Weber State wasn’t done. Koehler hit two more 3s but, crucially, Threatt missed a layup after a full-court-press steal (he appeared to be fouled) and again missed a putback attempt from a Burris missed free throw.
Still, Threatt swished a 3 for a 91-87 margin, then grabbed a backcourt steal and got another look behind the arc. But it went wide with six seconds left, allowing UC Irvine to hold on.
“We can’t sit here and cry about a couple losses. We have to move on,” Threatt said. “There’s no excuses. We lost and everyone’s got to be better, starting with me.”
Duft praised Irvine as a “tremendously good team” with its center “one of the best big guys on the West Coast,” and said his team is hitting the right marks so far — though live-ball turnovers hurt his team the most Friday, he thought.
“I think our team is a good team but I don’t think we’re close to where we’re going to be,” Duft said. “The record is what the record is. We played quality opponents and just have to keep learning and developing as a team and be ready to play our best basketball later in the season. I think we have a great group of guys and we just need to find just a little more toughness, a little bit more competitive edge to us. But we’re right there.”
Vucinic has been a key addition to WSU’s frontcourt. He grabbed three offensive rebounds and has provided a get-a-basket ability in the paint. He has 12 offensive rebounds this season.
“Bring the toughness, rebound the ball, that’s the main point,” said Vucinic, a native of Montenegro who transferred from the University of Portland, about his role. “After that, whatever happens, it just goes with it.”
Turner said his team is fortunate to have a group of veterans back with “unfinished business” after winning league titles but not tournament championships.
“When you have veterans that fit well together like we have, that gives you a chance,” Turner said. “Credit to Weber, they played a brutal schedule up ’til now, which is something I respect and admire … They were terrific tonight and we were fortunate to get out of here with a win.
“The series like this is because Weber knows that they’re going to be good every year and those are the only teams we can get to play us in a series. So respect to those guys for agreeing to play us, we’ll have our hands full with them next year when they come back to Irvine,” he continued. “I told our team this would be like a conference road game, and I thought the level of it was. It was hard to win.”
Duft said games like this are good for both programs.
“Their program and ours have the same problem: scheduling’s hard. Nobody wants to play us in our place, he has the same problem,” Duft said. “It was a great college game. Two quality teams, kids playing hard and competing this early and it felt like a tournament game.”
Weber State returns to action quickly with a Monday night matchup against Justice College, an NCCAA team that lost 72-48 at Division II Western Colorado on Friday night. That bridges WSU to its two-game trip to Arizona on Thanksgiving weekend where the Wildcats will play Bowling Green and either New Mexico State or Pepperdine.
