Sunday, December 11
Bozeman, MT
12:00 pm
University of California, Riverside
75
at
73
Montana State
Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta
Robert Smith's Three-Pointer Stuns Montana State As UCR Wins 75-73
12/11/2011 11:09:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Bozeman MT—Santa Clara transfer Robert Smith made his UC Riverside debut Sunday afternoon, and it is one the Highlanders won’t soon forget. (Box Score)
Trailing 73-69, UCR’s Kevin Bradshaw made a layup with 5.7 seconds remaining and was inexplicably fouled by Tre Johnson on the play. Bradshaw missed the free throw, but Montana State was whistled for entering the lane too soon, giving Bradshaw another opportunity.
His subsequent shot was too hard off the back iron, and rolled out to the right wing where Smith coralled it after a brief scrum. He launched a shot from beyond the arc, hitting nothing but net with 0.7 seconds to go, and the Highlanders recaptured the lead, 74-73.
Phil Martin hit a free throw with 0.3 seconds to go for the final margin of victory, but the Bobcats faithful were already exiting Worthington Arena.
The game appeared all but lost just moments earlier as the teams were trading baskets down the stretch. The Highlanders squandered a 15-point first half lead thanks in large part to the Bobcats wearing out a path to the free throw line: MSU was 40 of 53 from the carity stripe on the day including 24 of 29 in the second period.
Phil Martin scored 15 of his game-high 25 points in the first half as the Highlanders went into the locker room with a 36-31 lead.
UC Riverside still led by five, 55-50 with 8:25 to go, but Montana State went on a 6-0 run to take their first lead since they were on top 2-0 after the first possession of the game. After Martin gave UCR the lead again with a pair of free throws, the Bobcats scored the next five to take their largest lead of the game at 61-57 with 5:10 to go.
A Xavier Blount three-pointer gave Montana State a five-point edge, and it was still a four-point game with less than two minutes to play. Up until that point, Smith had scored just five points on the day, but he closed the game by scoring nine of the Highlanders final 12 including the three-pointer that gave UC Riverside the victory.
The Highlanders return home this Wednesday, December 14 as they host UC Santa Cruz. Tip time is slated for 7 pm PT.
GAME NOTES
The 40 Bobcats made free throws are tied for the most the Highlanders have ever allowed in a game. The 53 MSU attempts are the second most by an opponent in team history.
UC Riverside’s’ 36 first-half points were the most for the team since they scored 41 in the season-opening win over Cal Lutheran.
Trailing 73-69, UCR’s Kevin Bradshaw made a layup with 5.7 seconds remaining and was inexplicably fouled by Tre Johnson on the play. Bradshaw missed the free throw, but Montana State was whistled for entering the lane too soon, giving Bradshaw another opportunity.
His subsequent shot was too hard off the back iron, and rolled out to the right wing where Smith coralled it after a brief scrum. He launched a shot from beyond the arc, hitting nothing but net with 0.7 seconds to go, and the Highlanders recaptured the lead, 74-73.
Phil Martin hit a free throw with 0.3 seconds to go for the final margin of victory, but the Bobcats faithful were already exiting Worthington Arena.
The game appeared all but lost just moments earlier as the teams were trading baskets down the stretch. The Highlanders squandered a 15-point first half lead thanks in large part to the Bobcats wearing out a path to the free throw line: MSU was 40 of 53 from the carity stripe on the day including 24 of 29 in the second period.
Phil Martin scored 15 of his game-high 25 points in the first half as the Highlanders went into the locker room with a 36-31 lead.
UC Riverside still led by five, 55-50 with 8:25 to go, but Montana State went on a 6-0 run to take their first lead since they were on top 2-0 after the first possession of the game. After Martin gave UCR the lead again with a pair of free throws, the Bobcats scored the next five to take their largest lead of the game at 61-57 with 5:10 to go.
A Xavier Blount three-pointer gave Montana State a five-point edge, and it was still a four-point game with less than two minutes to play. Up until that point, Smith had scored just five points on the day, but he closed the game by scoring nine of the Highlanders final 12 including the three-pointer that gave UC Riverside the victory.
The Highlanders return home this Wednesday, December 14 as they host UC Santa Cruz. Tip time is slated for 7 pm PT.
GAME NOTES
The 40 Bobcats made free throws are tied for the most the Highlanders have ever allowed in a game. The 53 MSU attempts are the second most by an opponent in team history.
UC Riverside’s’ 36 first-half points were the most for the team since they scored 41 in the season-opening win over Cal Lutheran.
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