Saturday, January 7
Stockton, CA
7:00 pm
UC Riverside
64
at
57
Pacific
Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta
Martin's Career-High Tying 29 Points Lead UCR To 64-57 Win At Pacific
1/7/2012 6:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Stockton, CA—Phil Martin scored a career-high tying 29 points, and the UCR Men's Basketball Team withstood a late Pacific rally to pick up a 64-57 road win over the Tigers Saturday evening. It was just the Highlanders second win in 12 tries at the Alex G Spanos Center.
The win improved UCR's record to 8-8 overall and 2-1 in conference. This is just the second time in the team's Division I history that it has been at the .500 mark this late in the season. The 2008-09 version was the first to accomplish the feat, and went on to a 17-13 record on the year.
UC Riverside led by double figures on several occasions, and Robert Smith's lay up with 12:19 to go in the second half gave the Highlanders their largest lead of the game at 45-32.
UC Riverside still led by 12, 50-38, following a pair of Martin free throws, but a 7-2 Tigers run reduced the lead to single-digits once again.
It was a six-point UCR lead when Martin scored on a driving lay-up for his 29th point of the game, tying his career high. That basket made it 58-50 Highlanders with 3:05 to go.
Pacific hit a pair of free throws on each of its next two possessions to cut the lead to four, 58-54, with 2:26 on the clock, but Robert Smith countered by making one of two from the stripe with 1:28 to go.
After Travis Fulton's old-fashioned three-point play made it a two-point ball game, Nitoto drove the lane to double the Highlanders cushion to four, 61-57. Bradshaw made a free throw down the stretch and Smith connected on a pair for the final seven-point margin of victory.
Both teams struggled from the field in the early going as the Highlanders made 2 of their first 9 shots and the Tigers connected on just 1 of their first 6.
The score was tied at seven with 12:43 on the clock when the Highlanders rattled off eight straight points to go up 15-7. Three different players, Austin Quick, Kareem Nitoto and Harrison Gaines scored during the streak.
A 6-0 run by the Tigers cut the UCR lead to two, 15-13, and the teams traded buckets the rest of the way as the Highlanders took a 25-22 lead into the locker room. Martin led all scorers at the break with 11.
The Highlanders return home this week for games at the Student Rec Center on Thursday and Saturday against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly, respectively. Tip for both games is slated for 7 pm PT.
The win improved UCR's record to 8-8 overall and 2-1 in conference. This is just the second time in the team's Division I history that it has been at the .500 mark this late in the season. The 2008-09 version was the first to accomplish the feat, and went on to a 17-13 record on the year.
UC Riverside led by double figures on several occasions, and Robert Smith's lay up with 12:19 to go in the second half gave the Highlanders their largest lead of the game at 45-32.
UC Riverside still led by 12, 50-38, following a pair of Martin free throws, but a 7-2 Tigers run reduced the lead to single-digits once again.
It was a six-point UCR lead when Martin scored on a driving lay-up for his 29th point of the game, tying his career high. That basket made it 58-50 Highlanders with 3:05 to go.
Pacific hit a pair of free throws on each of its next two possessions to cut the lead to four, 58-54, with 2:26 on the clock, but Robert Smith countered by making one of two from the stripe with 1:28 to go.
After Travis Fulton's old-fashioned three-point play made it a two-point ball game, Nitoto drove the lane to double the Highlanders cushion to four, 61-57. Bradshaw made a free throw down the stretch and Smith connected on a pair for the final seven-point margin of victory.
Both teams struggled from the field in the early going as the Highlanders made 2 of their first 9 shots and the Tigers connected on just 1 of their first 6.
The score was tied at seven with 12:43 on the clock when the Highlanders rattled off eight straight points to go up 15-7. Three different players, Austin Quick, Kareem Nitoto and Harrison Gaines scored during the streak.
A 6-0 run by the Tigers cut the UCR lead to two, 15-13, and the teams traded buckets the rest of the way as the Highlanders took a 25-22 lead into the locker room. Martin led all scorers at the break with 11.
The Highlanders return home this week for games at the Student Rec Center on Thursday and Saturday against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly, respectively. Tip for both games is slated for 7 pm PT.
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