Sunday, December 29
Sacramento, CA
2:05 PM
UC Riverside
67
at
69
Sacramento State
Photo by: Carlos Puma
Men's Basketball Erases 15-Point Deficit, But Falls 69-67 At Sacramento State
12/29/2013 4:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Sacramento, CA—The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team erased a 15-point deficit Sunday afternoon, taking a one-point lead, 61-60, with 6:01 to go, but Sacramento State scored seven of the next nine points of the game, and a no-call on the Highlanders' last possession allowed the Hornets to escape with a 69-67 victory (Box Score).
A pair of Nick Gruninger free throws with 29 seconds to go in regulation tied the game at 67, and Steven Thornton was called for a foul on the Hornets' next possession. Dylan Garrity made both free throws, and UC Riverside inbounded the ball as the clock wound down. Gruninger drove the lane, and appeared to draw some contact, but no call was made. Steven Jones' jumper was off the mark, and the Highlanders were hung with their fifth loss of five points or fewer on the season.
A seven-minute Highlanders (4-8) scoring drought midway through the first half helped the Hornets secure their largest lead of the game at 15 on three separate occasions. UCR cut it to a ten-point game at the break as Sam Finley (11 points) and Lucas Devenny (6 points and 7 rebounds) kept the Highlanders close. UC Riverside's leading scorers, Taylor Johns and Chris Patton, struggled to get in the offensive flow combining for two points on one-for-six shooting.
Devenny's jumper with 2:03 gone in the second reduced the Sac State lead to eight as the Highlanders began to nibble away at the Hornets' lead. Two possessions later, Steven Jones made it a six-point game, 42-36, and Patton's lay up with 15:53 to go reduced the Hornets' advantage to five, 45-40.
Chris Harriel and Finley sandwiched a pair of jumpers around a Hornets' three pointer to make it a four-point lead, and a John's free throw with 14:00 to go made it a one possession game, 48-45. Less than a minute later, Finley's three from the elbow bounced off the front of the rim, off the backboard and through the net to tie the score, and give the freshman guard 20 points on the night.
UC Riverside would tie the game on four other occasions over the next seven minutes, and had a chance to take the lead on a number of instances, but couldn't quite close the deal.
It wasn't until the six-minute mark that Patton's follow gave the Highlanders their first lead of the game since a 3-2 advantage early in the first half, at 61-60. The lead was short-lived, however, as a pair of Mikh McKinney free throws put the Hornets back on top.
Finley finished with a team-high 20 points, while Gruninger added 12, and Patton chipped in with 11, all of which came in the second half.
Sac State scored seven of the next nine points before UC Riverside's final run. The Highlanders return home for the New Year to take on Waldorf College on Thursday, January 2 at 7 pm PT at the SRC Arena.
A pair of Nick Gruninger free throws with 29 seconds to go in regulation tied the game at 67, and Steven Thornton was called for a foul on the Hornets' next possession. Dylan Garrity made both free throws, and UC Riverside inbounded the ball as the clock wound down. Gruninger drove the lane, and appeared to draw some contact, but no call was made. Steven Jones' jumper was off the mark, and the Highlanders were hung with their fifth loss of five points or fewer on the season.
A seven-minute Highlanders (4-8) scoring drought midway through the first half helped the Hornets secure their largest lead of the game at 15 on three separate occasions. UCR cut it to a ten-point game at the break as Sam Finley (11 points) and Lucas Devenny (6 points and 7 rebounds) kept the Highlanders close. UC Riverside's leading scorers, Taylor Johns and Chris Patton, struggled to get in the offensive flow combining for two points on one-for-six shooting.
Devenny's jumper with 2:03 gone in the second reduced the Sac State lead to eight as the Highlanders began to nibble away at the Hornets' lead. Two possessions later, Steven Jones made it a six-point game, 42-36, and Patton's lay up with 15:53 to go reduced the Hornets' advantage to five, 45-40.
Chris Harriel and Finley sandwiched a pair of jumpers around a Hornets' three pointer to make it a four-point lead, and a John's free throw with 14:00 to go made it a one possession game, 48-45. Less than a minute later, Finley's three from the elbow bounced off the front of the rim, off the backboard and through the net to tie the score, and give the freshman guard 20 points on the night.
UC Riverside would tie the game on four other occasions over the next seven minutes, and had a chance to take the lead on a number of instances, but couldn't quite close the deal.
It wasn't until the six-minute mark that Patton's follow gave the Highlanders their first lead of the game since a 3-2 advantage early in the first half, at 61-60. The lead was short-lived, however, as a pair of Mikh McKinney free throws put the Hornets back on top.
Finley finished with a team-high 20 points, while Gruninger added 12, and Patton chipped in with 11, all of which came in the second half.
Sac State scored seven of the next nine points before UC Riverside's final run. The Highlanders return home for the New Year to take on Waldorf College on Thursday, January 2 at 7 pm PT at the SRC Arena.
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