Riverside—The UC Riverside Men's Basketball ran its winning streak to three straight Saturday evening as the Highlanders topped visiting UC Santa Barbara, 65-55.

Chance Murray led five players in double figures, with 15 points, but it was the defense that made the difference. For the fourth time in six games, UC Riverside (5-11, 3-2) held an opponent below 40 percent shooting, as the Gauchos connected on just 30.5 percent of their shots from the field. The Highlanders also forced 11 turnovers on the day, which they turned into 23 points.

UC Riverside was up by five at the break, and despite a number of UC Santa Barbara (3-14, 1-4) charges throughout the second half, never gave up the lead. The Highlanders balanced scoring was on display in the second half as Dikymbe Martin and Chance Murray each scored eight points, and Secean Johnson and Alex Larsson added seven. Malik Thames and Martin each finished with a dozen, while Johnson scored 11, and Larsson added 10.

UC Santa Barbara's Gabe VIncent led all scorer's with 18 points, but he went just seven for 20 from the field, including three for 14 from three-point range. More than half of the Gauchos shots on the day were from three-point range (30 of 59) and they made just five of their attempts from that distance.

The three conference wins in a row match UC Riverside's longest such streak since the 2011-12 season when they won four straight.

Next up for the Highlanders is a Wednesday, January 25 trip to the Aloha State for a 9 pm PT tip against the Rainbow Warriors.