Saturday, December 15
Riverside, CA
7:00 PM
UC Riverside
86
vs
74
LMU
Men's Basketball Overcomes 13-Point Second-Half Deficit To Beat LMU In Overtime
12/15/2007 11:43:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Riverside—UC Riverside overcame a 13-point second halftime deficit to beat Loyola Marymount University 86-74 in overtime at the UCR Student Rec Center. Five different Highlanders finished with double figures in points led by junior's Aaron Scott and Severin Gates who finished with 15 points for UCR (3-6).
Gates posted the games lone double-double with those 15 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Senior Larry Cunningham added 13 points, junior Chris Johnson and sophomore Sean Cunningham each chipped in with 12 points for the Highlanders.
UCR made their first 5-of-6 shots to take an early 11-8 lead just over five minutes into the game but the hot shooting of the Lions would take over. LMU (3-8) took their first lead at the 12:25 mark, 16-15 and continued to answer the Highlander offense with baskets of their own as both teams played a very quick pace throughout the first 20 minutes with Loyola finishing the half 13-of-21 (61.9%) shooting from the floor including 7-for-12 (58.3%) from behind the arc to take a 40-36 advantage into the break. Orlando Johnson went off, leading the Lions in shooting at 4-of-5 from three-point land to finish with 19 first half points. UCR did keep pace despite the unbelievable shooting night by Loyola with one of their best first half-shooting efforts of the season as well. They shot 15-30 (50.0%) from the floor and used nine Lion turnovers to score 17 points, led by Scott's 11 points, and keep it close at the break.
LMU continued their hot shooting to open up a 13-point lead on two different occasions in the second half with the second coming at the 15:07 mark, 53-40. UCR slowly began to chip away at the Lion lead though, using a 10-2 run over the next three minutes to cut it to 57-56. Seven straight LMU points followed to open up a 64-58 lead for the Lions with just over four minutes remaining.
The Highlanders then turned up the dial on defense and continued to attack the basket on offense, going on a 6-0 run capped by Larry Cunningham's steal and outlet pass to Johnson for a layup and close the gap to 64-63 still in favor of Loyola. Both Johnson and Gates added big baskets down the stretch as Johnson added seven of his season-high 12 points off the bench in the second half. A few minutes later the offense swung the ball around to Larry Cunningham who knocked down a three-pointer from the left wing that pulled the two teams even with a 1:38 left on the clock.
The Lions then converted on two free-throws but Gates answered for UCR with his two makes from the foul line to tie the game at 70-70 after he was fouled on his drive to the basket with 22 seconds remaining. Loyola threw the ball away while bringing the ball up on the ensuing play, allowing UCR to take the final shot of regulation. The Highlanders were unable to get a good look and then avoided a loss after a LMU 3/4 court length shot at the buzzer bounced off the front of the rim.
It was the Highlander "D" that came into the game ranked second in the Big West, that stepped up in the overtime session, holding the Lions to 1-for-11 (9.1%) from the field. Gates added eight of his points in the final period as UCR outscored Loyola 16-4 in overtime. After his great first half with 19 points, LMU's Johnson was limited to six points in the final 25 minutes of play but still finished with a game-high 25 points.
Riverside finished shooting 29-61 (47.5%) on the night and 22-for-25 (88.0%) from the charity stripe. That young and improving UCR defense led by Scott's three steals, forced 21 LMU turnovers and turned them into 31 points.
The next game for the Highlanders is a week from today, when Cal State Bakersfield comes to town next Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
Gates posted the games lone double-double with those 15 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Senior Larry Cunningham added 13 points, junior Chris Johnson and sophomore Sean Cunningham each chipped in with 12 points for the Highlanders.
UCR made their first 5-of-6 shots to take an early 11-8 lead just over five minutes into the game but the hot shooting of the Lions would take over. LMU (3-8) took their first lead at the 12:25 mark, 16-15 and continued to answer the Highlander offense with baskets of their own as both teams played a very quick pace throughout the first 20 minutes with Loyola finishing the half 13-of-21 (61.9%) shooting from the floor including 7-for-12 (58.3%) from behind the arc to take a 40-36 advantage into the break. Orlando Johnson went off, leading the Lions in shooting at 4-of-5 from three-point land to finish with 19 first half points. UCR did keep pace despite the unbelievable shooting night by Loyola with one of their best first half-shooting efforts of the season as well. They shot 15-30 (50.0%) from the floor and used nine Lion turnovers to score 17 points, led by Scott's 11 points, and keep it close at the break.
LMU continued their hot shooting to open up a 13-point lead on two different occasions in the second half with the second coming at the 15:07 mark, 53-40. UCR slowly began to chip away at the Lion lead though, using a 10-2 run over the next three minutes to cut it to 57-56. Seven straight LMU points followed to open up a 64-58 lead for the Lions with just over four minutes remaining.
The Highlanders then turned up the dial on defense and continued to attack the basket on offense, going on a 6-0 run capped by Larry Cunningham's steal and outlet pass to Johnson for a layup and close the gap to 64-63 still in favor of Loyola. Both Johnson and Gates added big baskets down the stretch as Johnson added seven of his season-high 12 points off the bench in the second half. A few minutes later the offense swung the ball around to Larry Cunningham who knocked down a three-pointer from the left wing that pulled the two teams even with a 1:38 left on the clock.
The Lions then converted on two free-throws but Gates answered for UCR with his two makes from the foul line to tie the game at 70-70 after he was fouled on his drive to the basket with 22 seconds remaining. Loyola threw the ball away while bringing the ball up on the ensuing play, allowing UCR to take the final shot of regulation. The Highlanders were unable to get a good look and then avoided a loss after a LMU 3/4 court length shot at the buzzer bounced off the front of the rim.
It was the Highlander "D" that came into the game ranked second in the Big West, that stepped up in the overtime session, holding the Lions to 1-for-11 (9.1%) from the field. Gates added eight of his points in the final period as UCR outscored Loyola 16-4 in overtime. After his great first half with 19 points, LMU's Johnson was limited to six points in the final 25 minutes of play but still finished with a game-high 25 points.
Riverside finished shooting 29-61 (47.5%) on the night and 22-for-25 (88.0%) from the charity stripe. That young and improving UCR defense led by Scott's three steals, forced 21 LMU turnovers and turned them into 31 points.
The next game for the Highlanders is a week from today, when Cal State Bakersfield comes to town next Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
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