Saturday, December 29
Riverside, CA
1:00 pm
University of California, Riverside
48
vs
58
Cal Poly
Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta
Second-Half Run Gives Cal Poly 58-48 Win Over Men's Basketball In Big West Opener
12/29/2012 3:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Riverside—The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team led by 11 points early in the second half Saturday afternoon, but a 16-0 Cal Poly run erased that advantage and the Mustangs held on for a 58-48 win to open Big West Conference play. (Box Score)
Cal Poly (5-6, 1-0) came into Saturday's game with one of the most impressive wins of the non-conference season by a Big West team—a 70-68 road victory over then nationally-ranked UCLA. Since then, however, the Mustangs dropped four of six games, with their only victories during that stretch coming against non-Division I competition.
There were four ties and four lead changes in the first half, but none came after the 9:03 mark when Taylor Johns converted on a lay up to put the Highlanders up two, 18-16. UC Riverside (3-10, 0-1) stretched that lead to eight with 1:59 to go in the half on a Robert Smith three-pointer, and the Highlanders took a six-point lead in the locker room at halftime.
Chris Patton paced the team with 10 points at the break on 4-of-4 shooting from the floor, and UCR's defense limited the Mustangs to just 36.0 percent shooting from the field.
With 15:08 gone in the second, Chris Harriel drained a three to put the Highlanders up 11, 39-28. After a Cal Poly misfire, Robert Smith's three-point attempt could have put UC Riverside up 14, but it was off the mark, and the Mustangs rattled off 16 straight to go up four, 44-39, with 7:15 to go in the game.
Smith's fast-break layup on the next UCR possession ended the run, and the teams traded buckets until the Highlanders were again down just three points, 51-48, following a Harriel layup with 4:24 left.
The Mustangs converted a free throw on the next possession, and UC Riverside failed to score in the final four minutes as Cal Poly closed out with a 7-0 run.
Harriel tied for the game-high with 14 points while Patton added 12. Kyle Odister led the Mustangs with 14 off the bench.
The Highlanders hit the road this week for a Thursday, January 3 meeting with Cal State Northridge and a Saturday, January 5 trip to newest conference opponent, Hawai'i.
Cal Poly (5-6, 1-0) came into Saturday's game with one of the most impressive wins of the non-conference season by a Big West team—a 70-68 road victory over then nationally-ranked UCLA. Since then, however, the Mustangs dropped four of six games, with their only victories during that stretch coming against non-Division I competition.
There were four ties and four lead changes in the first half, but none came after the 9:03 mark when Taylor Johns converted on a lay up to put the Highlanders up two, 18-16. UC Riverside (3-10, 0-1) stretched that lead to eight with 1:59 to go in the half on a Robert Smith three-pointer, and the Highlanders took a six-point lead in the locker room at halftime.
Chris Patton paced the team with 10 points at the break on 4-of-4 shooting from the floor, and UCR's defense limited the Mustangs to just 36.0 percent shooting from the field.
With 15:08 gone in the second, Chris Harriel drained a three to put the Highlanders up 11, 39-28. After a Cal Poly misfire, Robert Smith's three-point attempt could have put UC Riverside up 14, but it was off the mark, and the Mustangs rattled off 16 straight to go up four, 44-39, with 7:15 to go in the game.
Smith's fast-break layup on the next UCR possession ended the run, and the teams traded buckets until the Highlanders were again down just three points, 51-48, following a Harriel layup with 4:24 left.
The Mustangs converted a free throw on the next possession, and UC Riverside failed to score in the final four minutes as Cal Poly closed out with a 7-0 run.
Harriel tied for the game-high with 14 points while Patton added 12. Kyle Odister led the Mustangs with 14 off the bench.
The Highlanders hit the road this week for a Thursday, January 3 meeting with Cal State Northridge and a Saturday, January 5 trip to newest conference opponent, Hawai'i.
Day in the Life: Leilani Juan
Monday, May 04
UCR Student-Athletes cheer on our students.
Friday, May 01
UCR Athletics Director Introductory Full Press Conference
Tuesday, March 24
Athletics Director Greg Paules Introductory Presentation Recap
Tuesday, March 24
