UC Irvine cruises to quarterfinal victory

for 3-point shooting for most of the season, were on target from long distance right from the start.

Bent Leuchten and DJ Davis sank 3-pointers on the first two possessions for Irvine.

Butler and Justin Hohn followed with 3-pointers to extend the lead to 19-6, and Tillis became the fifth player for Irvine to hit a 3 in the first 11 ½ minutes when he scored from beyond the arc for a 24-10 lead.

Tillis and Butler would hit two more 3s in the first half as the Anteaters extended their lead to as much as 18 before taking a 36-18 lead into the half.

Irvine shot 52% from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, including 7 for 12 from 3-point distance.

Bakersfield was held to 30.8% from the floor and missed all six of its 3-point tries in the first half.

“When we play that type of defense, I think we can compete with the best of them,” Tillis said. “It’s going to be hard to beat us if we come out with the same intensity that we do every night.”

Tillis scored the first basket of the second half to extend the lead to 20 points, and the advantage swelled to as much as 30 points midway through the second half.

“We can’t let up on teams like this,” Tillis said. “Up by 20 points or up by five, whatever it is, you have to come with the same intensity that we started the game with.”

Bakersfield focused its defense on the two leading scorers on the season for Irvine and the Roadrunners did their job.

Davis, who came in averaging 15.2 points, was held to four points on 1-for-10 shooting from the floor. Dawson Baker, who averages 15.4 points, was held to seven points on 3-for-8 shooting.

“I thought today DJ and Dawson really got a lot of attention from Bakersfield and those guys played very unselfishly,” Turner said. “That’s the reason other guys on the team played well.”