Fieldhouse. The Anteaters (32-6), who didn’t take their first lead until there were just over nine minutes left, held off North Texas (27-9) with stingy defense, crucial rebounds and key free throws in the final minutes.

Devin Tillis had 16 points and 11 rebounds, Bent Leuchten had 14 points and nine rebounds and Justin Hohn (12 points, eight assists) and Myles Che (11 points, five assists) both hit their share of clutch shots in the second half to help the Anteaters set a program record for single-season wins.

UCI advances to its first NIT championship game and will face Chattanooga (28-9), which defeated Loyola-Chicago, 80-73, on Thursday at 6 p.m. PT.

“I’m playing for pride and respect,” Tillis said. “You know, we came up short in our own (Big West) tournament, and obviously that was disappointing. But we have another chance to redeem ourselves in a way, and come out on top. And I want to play for the name on my chest, my community and obviously my brothers who don’t have any more years left.”

The Anteaters shot 49% from the field (9 for 18 from 3-point range) and held North Texas to 34% overall (7 for 18 from behind the arc). UCI, which overcame 17 turnovers, held perhaps the most important edge of the night in a category not found in the box score: big-time shots.

For that, it can credit Hohn. A sixth-year graduate guard who has played more than 150 games in a UCI uniform, Hohn made three 3-point shots in the final 10 minutes and each one was critical.

He gave the Anteaters their elusive first lead at 43-41 on a high-arcing 3-pointer with 9:16 left, pounding his chest afterward.

His second 3-pointer gave the Anteaters a 57-54 lead with a little more than four minutes left, but the lead changes weren’t over.

With less than 2:40 to play, UCI’s Devin Tillis collected a teammate’s errant floater for a second-chance layup and a 59-57 lead.

Fairmont Prep product and Mean Green senior guard Atin Wright (25 points) then charged down the court, and the Anteaters abandoned all else to stop him. Wright saw teammate Rondel Walker left alone in the corner, and dished to the senior guard, who sank a 3-pointer — his only basket of the night — to give the Mean Green a 60-59 lead.

But the Anteaters had Hohn, who kickstarted a 7-0 run.

On the next possession, with the shot clock and game clock winding down, Hohn made a contested step-back 3-pointer off one foot for a 62-60 lead with 1:35 left and UCI never trailed again.

“I’ve been here six years now,” he said afterward. “I’ve always heard shoot with confidence. That’s going through my mind.”