Denver, CO—The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team tried to re-establish its defensive reputation Thursday evening at Denver, and succeeded for large swaths of the game, but foul difficulty reared its ugly head, and the Highlanders fell, 73-55, to the Pioneers
Two days after a tough 16-point loss at Northern Colorado, the Highlanders (1-8) took to the floor with a renewed sense of urgency on the defensive end of the floor. The result was 16 Denver turnovers, which UC Riverside turned into 16 points. However, the Highlanders' post trio of Alex Larsson, Menno Dijkstra and Brandon Rosser found itself in constant foul trouble throughout the evening, playing just 28 minutes combined.
The Pioneers took advantage of UC Riverside's height deficiency by making 53.5-percent of their shots for the game, and out-rebounding the Highlanders 33-19. The discrepancy was most apparent in the first half where Denver made 58.3 percent of its shots, and out-rebounded the Highlanders 20-9 en route to a 35-23 halftime advantage. Sixth man Jake Krafka led Denver with 10 points at the break, as he made all four of his shots from the floor including two three-pointers. Daniel Amigo out-rebounded the entire UC Riverside team, grabbing 12 boards.
Secean Johnson paced UCR with eight points in the first half, including a four for six effort from the free throw line.
The Highlanders cut the lead to single digits on a number of occasions in the second half, but they couldn't get over the hump. Denver's hot shooting continued thanks to the absence of a UCR post presence, connecting on 47.4 percent of its shots after the break.
Joe Rosga led all scorers with 18 points, while Amigo finished with a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double. Krafka's 12 points on the night were a career high, and Ade Murkey added 10.
Johnson led the Highlanders with 15 points thanks to an 11 for 14 effort from the charity stripe. Murray also score in double figures finishing with 10.
The Highlanders head back to the Inland Empire for Christmas break, before returning to the hardwood on December 28 for a 7 pm PT game against Utah Valley.
