University of California, Riverside
Cal State Fullerton
UCR Can’t Hold On On The Road As Titans Win 58-52
1/31/2009 5:27:32 PM | Men's Basketball
Fullerton, CA – The Highlanders almost had their third straight road win and their second conference road win of the season, but a cold stretch early in the second half turned a 34-27 lead into a 37-34 deficit and Cal State Fullerton went home with the 58-52 win. UC Riverside (11-9, 3-5) regained the lead briefly on back-to-back Kyle Austin baskets, but Josh Akognon’s jumper with 10:09 to go gave the Titans (11-10, 5-4) a lead they would never relinquish.
Defensively, the Highlanders played about as well as could be expected holding Akognon, the eighth leading scorer in the nation at 23.4 points per game, to just 15 points on 5-of-21 shooting from the field and 3-15 from three-point range. UCR was particularly effective in the first as Akognon misfired on 11 of 12 shots including eight of nine from three-point range.
As a team the Titans were just 2 of 18 from three-point range (11.1%) and nine of 32 from the field (28.1%). The Highlanders, meanwhile, made 48 percent (12-25) of their field goals in the period and 50 percent (3-6) of their threes.
The rest of the Titans heated up in the second, however, as they shot 52.6 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from beyond the arc. They also took advantage of the free throw line making 9 of 11 shots after the break. The Highlanders lost their offensive touch in the second misfiring on 24 of 33 field goals.
UCR led by as many as seven points prior to the Cal State Fullerton run, and that lead would have been larger had they been able to keep Cal State Fullerton off of the offensive glass. The Titans grabbed 14 offensive boards in the first to keep them in the game.
Austin led the Highlanders with 18 points and 10 rebounds on the night while Brandon Dowdy added 10 points and Aaron Scott grabbed 10 boards.
