UC Irvine faces Long Beach State following Leuchten's 31-point game

Updated Jan. 6, 2023 2:42 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Long Beach State Beach (7-8, 1-2 Big West) at UC Irvine Anteaters (9-5, 2-0 Big West)

Irvine, California; Saturday, 9 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: UC Irvine hosts the Long Beach State Beach after Bent Leuchten scored 31 points in UC Irvine's 88-83 victory against the UC Davis Aggies.

The Anteaters are 3-2 in home games. UC Irvine is third in the Big West with 26.0 defensive rebounds per game led by Leuchten averaging 4.3.

The Beach have gone 1-2 against Big West opponents. Long Beach State leads the Big West with 15.1 assists. Joel Murray paces the Beach with 3.9.

The Anteaters and Beach meet Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Leuchten is averaging 10.1 points and 6.3 rebounds for the Anteaters. DJ Davis is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for UC Irvine.

Murray is averaging 16.3 points, 3.9 assists and 1.7 steals for the Beach. Marcus Tsohonis is averaging 10.5 points over the last 10 games for Long Beach State.

LAST 10 GAMES: Anteaters: 6-4, averaging 80.0 points, 33.9 rebounds, 14.6 assists, 6.5 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 50.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.7 points per game.

Beach: 4-6, averaging 77.3 points, 39.8 rebounds, 14.9 assists, 7.0 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 45.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.7 points.

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