Highlanders Welcome Front-Running Long Beach State To The SRC Thursday

Riverside—The UC Riverside Men’s Basketball Team is 4-2 in Big West play for the first time in its history, but if the Highlanders are going to improve to 5-2, they will have to knock Long Beach State from the ranks of the unbeaten. The 49ers are 7-0 in conference entering this Thursday’s game at the Student Recreation Center and 14-6 overall.

UCR is coming off of a 72-61 loss at Cal State Fullerton in which they allowed the Titans to shoot 66.7 percent from the field in the second half. Prior to that game, the Highlanders’ conference opponents were connecting on just 37.1 percent of their field goal attempts.

Robert Smith led UC Riverside with 11 points, while Kareem Nitoto and Phil Martin each scored nine, and Elliott Berry and Harrison Gaines chipped in with eight apiece.

The Beach kept its Big West record unbeaten over the weekend with a convincing 71-48 victory at UC Santa Barbara. Larry Anderson led four LBSU players scoring in double figures with 19. Casper Ware and James Ennis added 14 each, while T.J. Robinson scored 11. Long Beach State made 58.7 percent of its field goal attempts on the night while holding the Gauchos to just 35.1 percent from the field.

The 49ers pace the conference both offensively and defensively scoring a league-high 74.4 points per game in Big West competition while allowing the opposition to score just 59.9 points per contest.

The Highlanders are 10-26 all-time against LBSU, but that includes an 0-15 stretch to start the series which dates back to the 1954-55 season. During the team’s Division I-era, the Highlanders are 10-11 against the 49ers, but Long Beach has won four straight including last season’s conference semifinal match up at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

Highlanders Welcome Front-Running Long Beach State To The SRC Thursday

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