Saturday, February 7
Student Recreation Center
5:00 PM
UC Riverside
58
vs
53
UC Davis
Photo by: Bobby R. Hester, (c) 2009
Lucky 13! Sellout Crowd of 2,725 Watches UCR Top UCD For 13th Win
2/7/2009 11:31:15 PM | Men's Basketball
With 4:22 left on the clock against UC Davis Saturday night, the Highlanders trailed, 48-46, and they were in danger of disappointing the largest crowd to ever attend a game at the Student Recreation Center as 2,725 fans squeezed through the doors for the Homecoming matchup.
To make matters more difficult, two of the Highlanders' primary offensive weapons were suffering through subpar shooting nights with Kyle Austin making just three of 12 shots and Aaron Scott connecting on just 1 of 9.
Of course that just meant that other players needed to step up, and a trio of Highlanders came through in the end. Sean Cunningham helped UC Riverside regain the lead with a three-pointer with 3:17 to go to give the Highlanders a one-point advantage. Brandon Dowdy followed with a three-pointer of his own to push the lead to four, and following a Joe Harden jumper for UC Davis, Dowdy drained another shot to make the score 54-50.
Javon Borum hit two free throws on UCR's next possession for a six-point edge, and after Harden nailed a pair of his own free throws with 27 seconds on the clock, Borum matched him with another set of freebies to make it 58-52 putting the game out of reach.
The game had all the makings of a nail biter in the first half as the teams combined for eight ties and lead changed seven times in the first 20 minutes. However the Highlanders used a 10-2 run to close out the period and take an eight-point lead into the locker room. The Aggies scored the first seven points coming out of the break to make it a ballgame again.
The clutch shooting down the stretch not withstanding, UCR's defense proved to be the difference in the second half, as the Highlanders held UC Davis to 30.8 percent shooting in the period. Coming into the game, UCD was averaging over 74 points per contest.
Dowdy led all scorers with 12 points on the night hitting 5 of 6 shots and 2 of 2 three-pointers. It was Dowdy's third straight game scoring in double-figures. Borum didn't miss a shot on the night making all three attempts from the field and all four free throws. Despite the off-shooting night, Austin contributed to the cause with a career-high 11 rebounds
To make matters more difficult, two of the Highlanders' primary offensive weapons were suffering through subpar shooting nights with Kyle Austin making just three of 12 shots and Aaron Scott connecting on just 1 of 9.
Of course that just meant that other players needed to step up, and a trio of Highlanders came through in the end. Sean Cunningham helped UC Riverside regain the lead with a three-pointer with 3:17 to go to give the Highlanders a one-point advantage. Brandon Dowdy followed with a three-pointer of his own to push the lead to four, and following a Joe Harden jumper for UC Davis, Dowdy drained another shot to make the score 54-50.
Javon Borum hit two free throws on UCR's next possession for a six-point edge, and after Harden nailed a pair of his own free throws with 27 seconds on the clock, Borum matched him with another set of freebies to make it 58-52 putting the game out of reach.
The game had all the makings of a nail biter in the first half as the teams combined for eight ties and lead changed seven times in the first 20 minutes. However the Highlanders used a 10-2 run to close out the period and take an eight-point lead into the locker room. The Aggies scored the first seven points coming out of the break to make it a ballgame again.
The clutch shooting down the stretch not withstanding, UCR's defense proved to be the difference in the second half, as the Highlanders held UC Davis to 30.8 percent shooting in the period. Coming into the game, UCD was averaging over 74 points per contest.
Dowdy led all scorers with 12 points on the night hitting 5 of 6 shots and 2 of 2 three-pointers. It was Dowdy's third straight game scoring in double-figures. Borum didn't miss a shot on the night making all three attempts from the field and all four free throws. Despite the off-shooting night, Austin contributed to the cause with a career-high 11 rebounds
Day in the Life: Leilani Juan
Monday, May 04
UCR Student-Athletes cheer on our students.
Friday, May 01
UCR Athletics Director Introductory Full Press Conference
Tuesday, March 24
Athletics Director Greg Paules Introductory Presentation Recap
Tuesday, March 24
