UC Riverside
Cal State Dominguez Hills
Highlanders Open 06-07 With 81-77 Exhibition Victory Over CS Dominguez Hills
11/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The UC Riverside Highlanders used a game-high 21-point effort by senior guard Justin Bell and double-doubles by sophomore forwards Benoit Bekono and B.J. Visman to post an 81-77 win over visiting Cal State Dominguez Hills in an exhibition game at the Physical Education Gym on the UCR campus Monday.
Bekono had 16 points - including 10 from the free throw line - and 10 rebounds and Visman added 11 points and a game-high 11 boards in the win over the Division II Toros, a former regular opponent of the Highlanders in the CCAA before UCR moved to Division I. UCR shot 42.4% from the field, including 51.5% in the second half.
The Toros had four players in double figures, led by Mike Steed's 14 point effort. Nonso Nibo added 13 while Gabe Bernard and Shamont Brown each had 11. Overall the Toros shot 43.3% from the field.
Bell showed no ill effects from missing the entire 05-06 season with torn knee ligaments, hitting 8-of-15 from the field and 5-of-10 from the three point line. Also making the return from the injured list was senior guard Dedrick Bates, who came off the bench to score nine points while showing no deficiency in his trademark speed or toughness.
The Highlanders got off to a slow start and the Toros led by as many as nine in the first half, the last time coming at 22-13 with 7:34 left. But the Highlanders quickly turned that around with a 17-1 run keyed by a three-point play by Bekono followed by back-to-back treys by Bell and Bates, the latter tying the score at 22-22.
Despite leading by seven with 3:05 left, the Toros came right back and took the lead entering the intermission at 32-31. The Highlanders came right back after the half and built a the lead to 11 at 55-44 with 11:41 left and by the 3:13 mark led by 14 at 73-59.
But the Toros turned on the press and used it to force the Highlanders into three turnovers in the span of a minute that sliced the lead to just two at 73-71 with 2:06 left.
Bekono stopped the run by hitting a pair of free throws to make it 75-71. UCR then drained six-of-eight charity shots in the final 1:15 to put the game out of reach.
