UC Irvine wins 97-88 over UCSB

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — Jurian Dixon's 23 points helped UC Irvine defeat UC Santa Barbara 97-88 on Saturday night in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Dixon shot 6 of 9 from the field, including 2 for 3 from 3-point range, and went 9 for 9 from the free-throw line for the Anteaters (27-5, 17-3 Big West Conference). Devin Tillis scored 21 points while going 8 of 11 from the floor, including 2 for 3 from 3-point range, and 3 for 3 from the foul line and added six rebounds. Justin Hohn had 17 points and shot 7 for 17, including 2 for 7 from beyond the arc.

The Gauchos (19-12, 11-9) were led in scoring by Deuce Turner, who finished with 28 points. UCSB also got 18 points from Colin Smith. Stephan D. Swenson also put up 13 points, six rebounds and four assists.

UC Irvine will be the No. 2 seed at the Big West Conference Tournament, which begins Wednesday in Henderson, Nevada, and earned a double-bye into the semifinals on Friday. Fifth-seeded UCSB plays No. 8 seed Cal State Bakersfield in the first round.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.