UC Riverside
Southeast Missouri (BracketBuster)
Highlanders Defeat SE Missouri Behind Misko's Career Night
2/8/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UC Riverside senior forward David Misko had a career-high 22 points and seven rebounds and senior guard Rickey Porter drained six free throws in the final 35 seconds as the UC Riverside Highlanders defeated the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks, 69-61, in a non-conference game in front of 631 fans in Riverside Saturday.
The game was part of the BracketBuster Tournament presented by eBay. The Highlanders improve to 4-19 overall, while the Redhawks fall to 6-19.
In addition to Misko, Porter was the only other Highlander in double-figures, pulling in 11 points. Senior forward Steve Williams had a solid night with seven points, seven assists, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Freshman guard Sean Cunningham had eight points, five boards and three assists and sophomore guard Larry Cunningham had eight points, four rebounds and two assists. As a team, UCR had a season-high 17 assists and shot 45.6% (26-of-57) from the field and 35.7% (5-of-14) from the three point line.
For the Redhawks, Roy Booker had a game-high 23 points and seven rebounds. Forward Terrick Willoughby added 16 points and center Waylon Francis had a game-high nine rebounds to go with his four points. As a team, Southeast Missouri shot 35.8% (24-of-67) from the field and 33.3% (8-of-24) from the three point line.
The Highlanders led by as many as 22 in the second half, taking a 54-32 advantage on a three by Larry Cunningham with 10:33 left. But UCR then got sloppy with the basketball, committing four turnovers in six trips down the floor and by the 4:54 mark the Redhawks had cut the margin to single digits at 58-49 on a bucket and free throw by Eric Jones.
The Redhawks shaved the margin to four at 63-59 on a three by Willoughby with 45 seconds left, and following a time out they were forced to foul to get the ball back. Porter, who had not gone to the line in the previous 19-plus minutes, rattled in his first two with 35 seconds left to give the Highlanders a 65-59 lead. Booker made a pair of freebies at the other end with 27 seconds left, but Porter again converted a pair when it was his turn three seconds later to build the lead back to six. Following a missed three by Booker, Porter drained his final pair with seven seconds left to salt the game away.
The Highlanders opened the game with an 11-3 lead as in the first five minutes, with Misko accounting for eight of the points on a variety of short and mid-range jumpers. He helped the margin get to 10 for the first time at 24-14 on a jumper at 6:06. The Highlanders took a 34-24 advantage into the intermission after having played one of their best all-around halves of the year, shooting 14-of-34 from the field (41.2%) and hitting 4-of-11 free throws.
Williams had one of his best all-around games of the season, and in addition to his offense did a credible job of slowing down Booker, who scored just five in the first half. Booker finished the night with 23 points, but on a Kobe-esque 8-of-25 shooting, including 3-of-11 from the three-point line.
