Wednesday, March 11
Anaheim, CA
8:30 PM
UC Riverside
46
vs
59
Cal State Fullerton (First Round)
Photo by: Bobby R. Hester, (c) 2009
Highlanders Season Comes To An End In First Round of Big West Tourney
3/11/2009 9:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Cal State Fullerton 59, UC Riverside 46 - Box Score
UC Riverside's record-setting season came to a sudden end Wednesday evening in the first round of the Big West Conference Tournament at the Anaheim Convention Center. The 17 regular season wins, eight conference victories and best-ever Big West finish weren't enough to carry them past Cal State Fullerton as Josh Akognon's 37 points led the Titans to a 59-46 win.
The Highlanders (17-13) tried to counter early with a hot shooting performance of their own courtesy of Brandon Dowdy. He scored 17 of UCR's 26 first-half points on 6 of 8 shooting including 4 for 4 from three-point range, and the Highlanders found themselves down just two, 28-26 at the break.
The Titans (15-16) used a 12-3 run to close the first to take that two-point lead, and shot out of the gates early in the second opening the half by scoring 16 of the first 20 points. Dowdy cooled off missing his first two shots out of the locker room, while Akognon remained red-hot scoring 20 of his 37 points after the break.
UC Riverside was without the services of guard Javon Borum who sat out the game due to a suspension following an altercation in the final game of the regular season, and the Highlanders struggled to get any kind of rhythm going offensively. UCR shot just 30.9 percent from the field including 27.6 percent in the second half.
It was the final game of their collegiate careers for seniors Aaron Scott and Christian Soto. Soto finished with three points and eight rebounds and Scott added five points and seven boards in his first action since injuring his knee with five games remaining in the regular season.
UC Riverside's record-setting season came to a sudden end Wednesday evening in the first round of the Big West Conference Tournament at the Anaheim Convention Center. The 17 regular season wins, eight conference victories and best-ever Big West finish weren't enough to carry them past Cal State Fullerton as Josh Akognon's 37 points led the Titans to a 59-46 win.
The Highlanders (17-13) tried to counter early with a hot shooting performance of their own courtesy of Brandon Dowdy. He scored 17 of UCR's 26 first-half points on 6 of 8 shooting including 4 for 4 from three-point range, and the Highlanders found themselves down just two, 28-26 at the break.
The Titans (15-16) used a 12-3 run to close the first to take that two-point lead, and shot out of the gates early in the second opening the half by scoring 16 of the first 20 points. Dowdy cooled off missing his first two shots out of the locker room, while Akognon remained red-hot scoring 20 of his 37 points after the break.
UC Riverside was without the services of guard Javon Borum who sat out the game due to a suspension following an altercation in the final game of the regular season, and the Highlanders struggled to get any kind of rhythm going offensively. UCR shot just 30.9 percent from the field including 27.6 percent in the second half.
It was the final game of their collegiate careers for seniors Aaron Scott and Christian Soto. Soto finished with three points and eight rebounds and Scott added five points and seven boards in his first action since injuring his knee with five games remaining in the regular season.
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