Box Score Riverside—The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team sliced a 17-point, second half deficit to one Wednesday evening at the SRC Arena, but Utah Valley held off the UCR charge and escaped with a 73-64 victory.

The Highlanders, who were struggling on both ends of the floor heading into the Utah Valley game, turned in one of their most inspired performances of the season, posting their best shooting night and second best defensive shooting effort of the year against a Division I opponent.

Despite those figures, UC Riverside (1-9) found itself trailing midway through the second thanks to Utah Valley's work on the perimeter. The Wolverines (7-6) made seven of 18 shots from three-point range in the first half while building a five-point cushion at intermission, and opened the second stanza on a 16-4 run. Four of the team's field goal during that run came from long range.

Trailing 55-38 with 13:55 to go, the Highlanders second-half surge was inspired, of all things, by a technical foul called on Utah Valley Head Coach Mark Pope. Pope was arguing about the foul discrepancy in the game, and got T'd up with 11:54 to go. Malik Thames hit the subsequent free throws, and drained a three-pointer on the team's next possession to cut the lead to 12.

After Utah Valley's Ivory Young made a free throw, Dikymbe Martin nailed a jumper on UC Riverside's next possession, and Gentrey Thomas connected from long distance on the next trip down the floor to make it a 56-48 ballgame.

Isaac Neilson's free throw for the Wolverines at the 10:19 mark pushed the lead back to nine, but that was the last point UVU would score for nearly seven minutes.

Thames drained another three with 9:54 on the clock, and Thomas' layup on the next possession made it a 57-53 game. It took nearly two minutes for the Highlanders to make their next basket—a jumper by Martin—which sliced the lead to two, 57-55.

Neither team dented the scoreboard over the next several trips down the floor, until Nelson's jumper with 3:30 on the clock ended the drought. Thomas connected on another jumper with 3:12 to go, and after Randolph Brandon made one of two from the stripe, Menno Dijkstra made both of his freebies to slide the lead to one, 60-59.

That was as close as the Highlanders would get, however, as Utah Valley scored 13 of the game's final 18 points to seal the win.

Thomas paced UC Riverside with a 20-point, 12-rebound double-double. Thames joined him in double figures with 12 points.

Connor Toolson led a quartet of Wolverines in double digits with 16 points. Kenneth Ogbe added 13, Brandon Randolph scored 13 and Neilson chipped in with 12.

The Highlanders remain at home this week as they host Grand Canyon on Saturday, December 31 beginning at 2 pm PT.