UC Riverside
San Diego
Toreros Outrun Highlanders, 82-65
11/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The visiting University of San Diego Toreros defeated the host UC Riverside Highlanders, 82-65 in a non-conference game at the Student Recreation Center in Riverside Saturday.
The Highlanders fell to 0-3 on the season, while San Diego improved to 2-2.
The Toreros' Nick Lewis led all scorers with 29 points on 13-of-16 shooting, Corey Belser added 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds and Ross DeRogatis had 12 points to lead the winners. For the Highlanders, Larry Cunningham had a season-high 18 points, Houston Power had 13 points and Rickey Porter had 11.
The Highlanders shot 24-of-74 (32.4%) from the field and 4-of-22 (18.2%) from the three-point line. The Toreros were 33-of-56 (58.9%) from the field. USD outrebounded UCR, 41-35. The Highlanders forced USD into 25 turnovers, while committing 16.
The Highlanders struggled with their shooting in the first half, hitting 9-of-38 (23.7%) from the field and 2-of-14 (14.3%) from the three-point line. While their defense was able to force USD into 13 turnovers, the Toreros still hit 13-of-24 (54.2%) from the field.
The Toreros jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first 1:36 of the game and built the margin to 14 at 21-7 at 10:23. The Highlanders were able to move to within eight with a 9-4 run that made the score 24-16 with 7:24 left, but again the Toreros built the lead to double-figures before a 7-2 UCR run brought it back to nine at 34-25 at the half.
The Toreros came out of the gate fast in the second half to outscore UCR 11-2, leading 45-27 with 17:29 remaining. The margin grew to as many as 25, for the final time on a layup by USD's Nir Cohen with 9:58 left that made the score 63-38. UCR shaved the margin back to 13 at 71-58 with 3:40 left, but could get no closer.
