Cal State Northridge 63, UC Riverside 47 Box Score
Larry Gurganious (pictured) recorded his first career double-double scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive end, but it wasn't enough as the Highlanders dropped their fifth straight home game, 63-47, to Cal State Northridge.
UC Riverside (8-14, 2-8) trailed by one, 20-19 with 6:17 left in the first half, when the Matadors (9-13, 4-5) went on a 10-0 run over the next 2:11 to open up an 11-point advantage, Cody Raymond had seven points during that stretch and finished with a game-high 18 on the night.
Cal State Northridge led by eight at the break, and the Highlanders were never able to get closer than that in the second. It was still a 10-point game, 51-41, with 8:33 to go, and the Matadors scored 12 of the next 15 points to open up their largest lead of the night, 63-44 with 1:01 to go. Kyle Austin's three-pointer with 44 seconds left on the clock completed the scoring.
Austin led UC Riverside with 17 points, as he and Gurganious combined to shoot 10 of 21 from the field. The remainder of the team connected on just 5 of 29 shots including 3 of 18 from beyond the arc. The Highlanders trademark defense was out of sync as well as CSUN made 49.0 percent of their shots including 10 of 19 from three-point range. They also turned 17 UCR turnovers into 24 points.
The Highlanders return to the road Saturday evening as they travel to Cal State Fullerton for a 6 pm tilt against the Titans. CSF is 10-10 on the year, and 4-4 in the Big West, pending Saturday's outcome at Long Beach State.