Men's Basketball Returns Home To Tangle With Banana Slugs Wednesday

Riverside—Still riding the high of Sunday's emotionally draining 75-73 come-from-behind win at Montana State, the UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team returns home this Wednesday to take on the Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz. Tip time at the Student Recreation Center is 7 pm PT.

Santa Clara transfer Robert Smith was the big hero of the day against the Bobcats scoring nine of the Highlanders final 12 points of the game including the three-pointer that gave UCR the lead for good with 0.7 seconds remaining. He finished the game with 14 points on 5 of 10 shooting from the field, including 2 of 4 from three-point range and 2 of 2 from the free throw line.

Although he has played in just one game for the Highlanders, Smith joins Phil Martin (15.5) as the only two members of the team averaging better than double figures on the season. Kareem Nototo has raised his scoring average to 9.3 on the season to sit just outside the double-digit threshold.

The 75 points scored by the Highlanders against Montana State was the most they have scored all year, and their highest scoring output since they dropped an 82-76 decision to Long Beach State on March 2, 2011.

That collective offensive outburst was a welcome change for UC Riverside, as the Highlanders entered the game against the Bobcats averaging just 52.7 points per game.

The Banana Slugs enter Wednesday's contest with a 3-5 overall mark following an 83-73 win over Menlo College on December 10 of this year. UC Santa Cruz tangled with Big West foe UC Davis to open the season, and gave the Aggies all they could handle in an 84-78 loss at the UC Davis Pavilion.

Allen Samuel is the Slugs leading scorer at 13.0 points per game despite coming off the bench in each of the first UCSC outings. Brent Jacobs is second on the squad in scoring at 12.3 points per game followed by Tyler Hunt's 10.6.

The Highlanders are a perfect 7-0 all-time against the Banana Slugs including a 2-0 mark since UCR made the transition to Division I prior to the 2001-02 season. The teams last squared off against one another on December 14, 2002 with the Highlanders coming away with a 71-58 victory.

Men's Basketball Returns Home To Tangle With Banana Slugs Wednesday

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