Thursday, February 24
Riverside, CA
7:00 PM
University of California, Riverside
51
vs
57
Pacific
Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta
Highlanders Hang Tough, But Pacific Ekes Out 57-51 Win Thursday
2/24/2011 10:26:57 PM | Men's Basketball
Pacific 57, UC Riverside 51 - Box Score
Riverside—The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team (9-17, 4-9) was trying to put a stop to a four-game losing streak Thursday night at the Student Recreation Center, and they found themselves in a tight ballgame down five, 54-49 with 4:53 to go. But the lid tightened on both rims the rest of the way, and Pacific (16-11, 8-5) escaped with a 57-51 victory.
UCR's loss coupled with UC Irvine's 96-87 double overtime win over UC Davis, dropped the Highlanders back into eighth place in the conference, one game ahead of the ninth-place Aggies. The top eight teams in the Big West advance to the conference tournament being played this season at Honda Center in Anaheim from March 10-12.
The Highlanders offense has been out of sync of late, and they struggled again Thursday making just 35.7 percent of their shots from the field. But the team's defense ratcheted things up several notches forcing the Tigers into 16 turnovers and allowing Pacific to take just 12 free throws on the night—the second fewest by a UCR opponent this season.
The Tigers shot 42.9 percent from the field including 40.0 percent in the second half as the Highlanders cut a 13-point Pacific lead with 15:37 remaining to just four points on two different occasions, the last of which came with 6:34 to go.
Javon Borum's three-pointer with 4:53 left made it a five-point game, but that was the last points either team would score for nearly four minutes. Over that time, the Highlanders missed five shots and committed one turnover, while the Tigers misfired on two shots and committed a pair of miscues.
Pat Eveland's three-pointer with 1:05 on the clock ended the drought, and effectively ended the game as UCR missed the mark on three of their four final shots of the evening.
Both teams were evenly matched for the majority of the first half as Phil Martin's jumper with 14:17 gone in the period tied the game for the fifth time. Pacific scored 11 of the next 13 points, however, and took a 33-26 lead into the locker room. Sam Willard and Allen Huddleston each scored 10 points in the first 20 minutes of play while the rest of the Tigers connected on just 5 of 16 shots in the period.
Huddleston added 12 more in the second to lead all scorers with 22 while Willard finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Martin was the lone member of the Highlanders to score in double figures with 15 points. Borum's string of 22 consecutive games scoring in double digits came to an end as he made just 2 of 10 shots from the field and finished with six points.
UC Riverside celebrates Homecoming 2011 this Saturday's against UC Davis. Tip is slated for 5 pm PT. Fans are reminded to arrive early as parking will be at a premium with several Homecoming events occurring on campus throughout the day.
Riverside—The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team (9-17, 4-9) was trying to put a stop to a four-game losing streak Thursday night at the Student Recreation Center, and they found themselves in a tight ballgame down five, 54-49 with 4:53 to go. But the lid tightened on both rims the rest of the way, and Pacific (16-11, 8-5) escaped with a 57-51 victory.
UCR's loss coupled with UC Irvine's 96-87 double overtime win over UC Davis, dropped the Highlanders back into eighth place in the conference, one game ahead of the ninth-place Aggies. The top eight teams in the Big West advance to the conference tournament being played this season at Honda Center in Anaheim from March 10-12.
The Highlanders offense has been out of sync of late, and they struggled again Thursday making just 35.7 percent of their shots from the field. But the team's defense ratcheted things up several notches forcing the Tigers into 16 turnovers and allowing Pacific to take just 12 free throws on the night—the second fewest by a UCR opponent this season.
The Tigers shot 42.9 percent from the field including 40.0 percent in the second half as the Highlanders cut a 13-point Pacific lead with 15:37 remaining to just four points on two different occasions, the last of which came with 6:34 to go.
Javon Borum's three-pointer with 4:53 left made it a five-point game, but that was the last points either team would score for nearly four minutes. Over that time, the Highlanders missed five shots and committed one turnover, while the Tigers misfired on two shots and committed a pair of miscues.
Pat Eveland's three-pointer with 1:05 on the clock ended the drought, and effectively ended the game as UCR missed the mark on three of their four final shots of the evening.
Both teams were evenly matched for the majority of the first half as Phil Martin's jumper with 14:17 gone in the period tied the game for the fifth time. Pacific scored 11 of the next 13 points, however, and took a 33-26 lead into the locker room. Sam Willard and Allen Huddleston each scored 10 points in the first 20 minutes of play while the rest of the Tigers connected on just 5 of 16 shots in the period.
Huddleston added 12 more in the second to lead all scorers with 22 while Willard finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Martin was the lone member of the Highlanders to score in double figures with 15 points. Borum's string of 22 consecutive games scoring in double digits came to an end as he made just 2 of 10 shots from the field and finished with six points.
UC Riverside celebrates Homecoming 2011 this Saturday's against UC Davis. Tip is slated for 5 pm PT. Fans are reminded to arrive early as parking will be at a premium with several Homecoming events occurring on campus throughout the day.
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