Riverside—The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team turned in its best performance of the season Saturday afternoon, jumping out early on visiting Grand Canyon, en route to a 76-56 victory. The win snapped a seven-game losing streak for the Highlanders.
UCR flexed its defensive muscles early as they built a 14-6 lead over the Lopes, forcing Grand Canyon to miss its first seven shots from long range. By the end of the first half, the Highlanders enjoyed a 17-point advantage, 39-22, holding the Lopes to 24.2 percent shooting, including 14.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Brandon Rosser recorded his best 20-minute stretch of basketball this season, tying his career-high with 11 points in the first half, and grabbing a career-high seven rebounds in that span. He finished with a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double.
UC Riverside's bench contributed 18 of the 39 first-half points, with Gentrey Thomas scoring eight, and Malik Thames adding six with six boards.
Grand Canyon's leading scorer on the season, and third leading scorer in the nation, DeWayne Russell missed 11 of 14 shots in the first, but still led the Lopes with seven points at the break. His teammates went a combined five for 19 from the floor.
The Highlanders extended their lead to as many as 23 in the second half, and GCU never got closer than 15 the rest of te way.
Keonta Vernon tried to give the Lopes a boost in the second half, scoring nine of the team's first 18 points after the intermission, finishing with a team-high 14. He also added a game-high 11 boards. Russell continued to struggle, missing 21 of his 25 field goal attempts, and committing five turnovers.
Thomas finished with a game-high 15 points for the Highlanders, while Menno Dijkstra scored a career-high 14 points. UC Riverside made 50 percent of its shots on the day, which is the team's highest percentage against a Division I opponent since February 3. 2015 vs. CSUN (.521).
The Highlanders held Grand Canyon to 31.3 percent shooting, which is the team's best defensive performance against a Division I opponent since December 14, 2013 at Air Force (.290)
UC Riverside begins Big West play next week with road games at CSUN on Wednesday, January 4 at 7 pm PT, and at Long Beach State on Saturday, January 7 at 4 pm. The game against the Beach is bring broadcast on ESPN3.
