Saturday, December 1
Riverside, CA
7:00 pm
University of California, Riverside
69
vs
63
Northern Colorado
Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta
Robert Smith's 21 Points Lead Men's Basketball To 69-63 Win Over Northern Colorado
12/1/2012 10:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Riverside—The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team played its first game back in the Golden State following three games at the Great Alaska Shootout, and got a season-high 21 points out of Robert Smith and 17 from Chris Harriel as the Highlanders held off Northern Colorado, 69-63, Saturday evening at the SRC Arena (Box Score/Audio Highlights).
UCR (2-6) turned in its best defensive half in recent memory in the first period holding the Bears (1-4) to 18.5 percent shooting from the field and forcing them into 13 turnovers. That helped the Highlanders build a 12-point halftime lead, 28-16.
It looked like UC Riverside was going to run away with the game early in the second, as they scored the first 15 points after the break to lead by 27, 43-16. One possession later, Smith drained a three-pointer to give the Highlanders their largest lead of the night at 28
It was still a 24-point game with 10:19 remaining when the Bears started chipping away at the lead. Northern Colorado started connecting on threes going 8 for 19 from beyond the arc in the second 20 minutes of play after going just 2 for 11 in the first half. They also benefited from the Highlanders continued struggles at the free throw line: UCR took 35 shots from the charity stripe in the second period, but made just 17 of them. For the game, they were 21 of 45 from the line (46.7%).
All that led to an 11-1 Bears run midway through the second half and a 21-7 run that closed them to within six, 67-61, with 18 seconds on the clock. Smith made a pair of free throws to stop the flow, and the Highlanders were able to close out the game and the win.
Taylor Johns grabbed 12 rebounds in his UC Riverside debut while Harriel added a career-high seven steals. Tate Unruh led Northern Colorado with 17 points while Tevin Svihovec added 13, Tim Huskisson scored 12 and Derrick Barden chipped in with 11.
The Highlanders hit the road on Wednesday, December 5 for a 7 pm PT game at Pepperdine.
UCR (2-6) turned in its best defensive half in recent memory in the first period holding the Bears (1-4) to 18.5 percent shooting from the field and forcing them into 13 turnovers. That helped the Highlanders build a 12-point halftime lead, 28-16.
It looked like UC Riverside was going to run away with the game early in the second, as they scored the first 15 points after the break to lead by 27, 43-16. One possession later, Smith drained a three-pointer to give the Highlanders their largest lead of the night at 28
It was still a 24-point game with 10:19 remaining when the Bears started chipping away at the lead. Northern Colorado started connecting on threes going 8 for 19 from beyond the arc in the second 20 minutes of play after going just 2 for 11 in the first half. They also benefited from the Highlanders continued struggles at the free throw line: UCR took 35 shots from the charity stripe in the second period, but made just 17 of them. For the game, they were 21 of 45 from the line (46.7%).
All that led to an 11-1 Bears run midway through the second half and a 21-7 run that closed them to within six, 67-61, with 18 seconds on the clock. Smith made a pair of free throws to stop the flow, and the Highlanders were able to close out the game and the win.
Taylor Johns grabbed 12 rebounds in his UC Riverside debut while Harriel added a career-high seven steals. Tate Unruh led Northern Colorado with 17 points while Tevin Svihovec added 13, Tim Huskisson scored 12 and Derrick Barden chipped in with 11.
The Highlanders hit the road on Wednesday, December 5 for a 7 pm PT game at Pepperdine.
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