Saturday, February 28
Riverside, CA
UC Riverside
63
vs
60
UC Santa Barbara
Photo by: Phil Ellsworth
Highlanders Hold On to Defeat Gauchos, 63-60
2/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The UC Riverside Highlanders snapped a three game losing streak and improved their chances for a postseason berth with a 63-60 win over the visiting UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in front of 1,045 fans at the Student Recreation Center in Riverside Saturday.
UCR is 9-15 overall and 6-10 in the Big West, while UCSB is 14-11, 8-8.
Vili Morton had a game-high 19 points, Nate Carter had 15 and Mark Peters had 12 in his final home appearance. Cecil Brown led UCSB with 15 points and Casey Cook had 14 off the bench for the Gauchos.
The game was in doubt until the final seconds. UCR had a 57-50 lead with 2:28 remaining on a layup by Carter off a driving pass by Peters, but the Gauchos rallied back. Jacoby Atako's free throw with 1:43 remaining made the score 58-54. Carter missed a pair of free throws with 1:21 remaining and Chrismen Oliver drained a three with 1:06 left to make the score 58-57. Rickey Porter then went to the line and made one of two for a 59-57 lead with 1:03 left.
On the next possession Branduinn Fullove's three pointer was long and rebounded by Peters. UCR worked the clock down to 25.9 before Butler was fouled by Nick Jones. Butler missed both ends of the two-shot foul, but Morton grabbed the rebound and layed it home for a 61-57 lead.
But the Gauchos weren't done. Cecil Brown drained a three with 10.1 left, and following a timeout, Butler was fouled by Brown before the inbound. Butler made one fo the two for a 62-60 lead, and Josh Davis' pass was picked off by Porter with 2.7 seconds left. He was fouled and missed his first FT, then made the second. Peters knocked the Gaucho's baseball pass out of bounds with 2.7 seconds left, and Fullove's three pointer at the buzzer missed, giving UCR the win.
UCR jumped out to an early lead with four three pointers to build a 12-5 lead. But the Gauchos came back to take the lead at 18-16 on a layup and free throw by Cook at 11:42. UCR took the lead back on a pair of Vili Morton free throws at 7:55, 24-22 and cruised into halftime with a 33-28 advantage.
The Highlanders outrebounded the Gauchos 32-31, and had more trips to the line, 26 to 21.
The win is the 750th in UCR history. UCR's nine wins overall and six wins in conference are school records for the Division I era.
The Highlanders will take to the road for their final two regular season games, facing Cal State Northridge on Thursday and the University of the Pacific on Saturday.
UCR is 9-15 overall and 6-10 in the Big West, while UCSB is 14-11, 8-8.
Vili Morton had a game-high 19 points, Nate Carter had 15 and Mark Peters had 12 in his final home appearance. Cecil Brown led UCSB with 15 points and Casey Cook had 14 off the bench for the Gauchos.
The game was in doubt until the final seconds. UCR had a 57-50 lead with 2:28 remaining on a layup by Carter off a driving pass by Peters, but the Gauchos rallied back. Jacoby Atako's free throw with 1:43 remaining made the score 58-54. Carter missed a pair of free throws with 1:21 remaining and Chrismen Oliver drained a three with 1:06 left to make the score 58-57. Rickey Porter then went to the line and made one of two for a 59-57 lead with 1:03 left.
On the next possession Branduinn Fullove's three pointer was long and rebounded by Peters. UCR worked the clock down to 25.9 before Butler was fouled by Nick Jones. Butler missed both ends of the two-shot foul, but Morton grabbed the rebound and layed it home for a 61-57 lead.
But the Gauchos weren't done. Cecil Brown drained a three with 10.1 left, and following a timeout, Butler was fouled by Brown before the inbound. Butler made one fo the two for a 62-60 lead, and Josh Davis' pass was picked off by Porter with 2.7 seconds left. He was fouled and missed his first FT, then made the second. Peters knocked the Gaucho's baseball pass out of bounds with 2.7 seconds left, and Fullove's three pointer at the buzzer missed, giving UCR the win.
UCR jumped out to an early lead with four three pointers to build a 12-5 lead. But the Gauchos came back to take the lead at 18-16 on a layup and free throw by Cook at 11:42. UCR took the lead back on a pair of Vili Morton free throws at 7:55, 24-22 and cruised into halftime with a 33-28 advantage.
The Highlanders outrebounded the Gauchos 32-31, and had more trips to the line, 26 to 21.
The win is the 750th in UCR history. UCR's nine wins overall and six wins in conference are school records for the Division I era.
The Highlanders will take to the road for their final two regular season games, facing Cal State Northridge on Thursday and the University of the Pacific on Saturday.
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