UC Irvine’s mens basketball team set a 94-foot obstacle course of presses, traps and double teams to force turnovers and missed shots in a 66-49 rout of Hawaii in SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

A crowd of 4,062 saw the Rainbow Warriors turn the ball over 10 times in the first half, including on their first three possessions, and shoot 29.1%, to fall to 14-12 overall and 6-9 in the Big West. It was a season low in scoring for the ’Bows.

Despite the one-sided outcome, the ’Bows remained alone in seventh place with five regular-season games remaining. Eight of the 11 members qualify for the Big West Tournament.

The first-place Anteaters, who improved to 22-4 and 12-2, came out with an aggressive full-court press that forced the UH ball-handlers into traps along the sidelines.

“Our defense set the tone for the game early,” UCI coach Russell Turner said. “I thought we were edgy on the challenge of coming here on this type of travel (after playing on Thursday) and needed to perform. Our guys did that. It’s a credit to the seniors. I thought everyone was locked in on the defensive end early.”

The ’Bows’ three turnovers to start the game led to the Anteaters’ 6-0 lead. On bleed-out plays, UCI guard Jurian Dixon sprinted away for two layups. The ’Bows took 1 minute, 39 seconds to launch their first shot.

“You can’t spot a good team (points),” UH point guard Aaron Hunkin-Claytor said. “It’s already harder to do when you’re trying to claw back, when you dug yourself a hole.”

When the ’Bows tried to drive the lane, the Anteaters would slide a wing defender into the post to create a dead end. During the Anteaters’ 11-0 run that boosted their lead to 19-8, the ’Bows committed five consecutive turnovers. On the sixth possession, UCI’s 7-foot-1 Bent Leuchten blocked Jerome Palm’s layup attempt.

The Anteaters parlayed 10 UH first-half turnovers into 14 points. They finished with a 16-5 advantage on points off turnovers.

The Anteaters extended their man-to-man defense to harass the perimeter shooters. The ’Bows were 2-for-11 on 3-point attempts, including 0-for-5 in the first half. UH center Tanner Christensen sank the ’Bows’ first 3 from the top of the key.

But the ’Bows also were ineffective inside the arc. They missed 30 of their 44 2-point shots.

“We didn’t set the tone,” UH co-captain Ryan Rapp said. “We played off our back foot. It’s been the story of our season so far. When we are aggressive and don’t second-guess ourselves, we play really well. Tonight, we just played off our back foot and turned the ball over three times to start the game. That’s not going to win games for us. That’s something we have to fix as soon as we can. The only way we can do that is from training and actually doing it on the court. We can talk about it, but we actually have to do it.”

Leuchten finished with 21 points on 7-for-8 shooting. He also grabbed seven rebounds and blocked four UH shots.

“Bent was terrific,” Turner said. “I didn’t think he started well, but he got into the game and was a huge factor on offense and defense.”

Leuchten said: “I think everybody did their part. I think we played great defense. … We needed to make a statement. We needed to come out and play hard. We did that.”

Of the blocks, Leuchten said: “It doesn’t happen often. Right spot at the right time.”