LETHBRIDGE, Alberta -- — Bent Leuchten's 17 points helped UC Irvine defeat Kent State 51-39 on Friday at Western Slam.

Leuchten added eight rebounds for the Anteaters (7-0). Devin Tillis scored eight points while going 3 of 6 from the field and added 11 rebounds. Justin Hohn shot 2 of 11 from the field, including 0 for 3 from 3-point range, and went 2 for 3 from the line to finish with six points, while adding six rebounds. It was the seventh victory in a row for the Anteaters.

The Golden Flashes (5-2) were led by Delrecco Gillespie, who recorded nine points. Kent State also got seven points from Jamal Sumlin. Marquis Barnett also had seven points.

UC Irvine took the lead with 3:47 left in the first half and did not give it up. The score was 23-16 at halftime, with Leuchten racking up nine points. UC Irvine pulled away with a 9-0 run in the second half to extend a five-point lead to 14 points. They outscored Kent State by five points in the final half, as Leuchten led the way with a team-high eight second-half points.

------

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