Saturday, March 2
Riverside, CA
5:00 pm
University of California, Riverside
68
vs
70
Pacific (Homecoming)
Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta
Three Pointer At The Buzzer Comes Up Just Short As Men's Basketball falls 70-68 To Pacific
3/2/2013 9:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Riverside--The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team celebrated Senior Night Saturday as Robert Smith played his last home game ever for the Highlanders, and he nearly sent the Homecoming Crowd home with a dramatic victory. But his three pointer on the game's last possession came up just short, and the Pacific Tigers escaped the SRC Arena with a 70-68 victory (box score).
With the Tigers (17-12, 11-5) leading by seven, 69-60, with 4:33 left in the game, the Highlanders (6-23, 3-13) used buckets by Chris Patton, Taylor Johns, and Steven Jones to cut the lead to a single-possession, 69-66, with 1:48 remaining. After missed field goals by both teams, UCR put Pacific on the foul line, hoping for a missed free throw and a rebound.
Their prayers were answered as Sama Taku missed the front end of a one-and-one with 24 seconds to go, and the Highlanders came down the court looking to tie the game. Tre Owens misfired on a long ball, but Johns came up with the rebound, and Patton connected on a layup to bring UCR to within one, 69-68, with only 12 seconds left.
After another UCR foul, the Tigers hit the front end of another set of free throws, but missed the second giving the Highlanders a chance to tie or win on the last possession. Pacific had a number of fouls to give, however, and they were able to whittle the clock down to five seconds before allowing UC Riverside to get into its offense.
Robert Smith found himself just outside the three-point line by the right elbow with the clock running down. Earlier in the game, Smith sent the crowd into a frenzy with a 55-footer as time expired at the end of the first half. A second buzzer beater wasn't in the cards, however, as his shot came up just short, and the Tigers held on for the win.
Patton led all players with 28 points while Smith added 16. Lorenzo McCloud scored 15 points to lead four Tigers in double-figures.
For the game, Pacific knocked down 48.1 percent of its field goals while hitting 41.2 percent from downtown, while the Highlanders shot 46.4 percent from the floor. UCR was dominant in the paint, outscoring the Tigers 34-24, and grabbed 33 rebounds to just 28 for Pacific.
The Highlanders have just two games remaining on their regular season schedule starting on Thursday, March 7 with a 7 pm PT tip at Cal Poly.
With the Tigers (17-12, 11-5) leading by seven, 69-60, with 4:33 left in the game, the Highlanders (6-23, 3-13) used buckets by Chris Patton, Taylor Johns, and Steven Jones to cut the lead to a single-possession, 69-66, with 1:48 remaining. After missed field goals by both teams, UCR put Pacific on the foul line, hoping for a missed free throw and a rebound.
Their prayers were answered as Sama Taku missed the front end of a one-and-one with 24 seconds to go, and the Highlanders came down the court looking to tie the game. Tre Owens misfired on a long ball, but Johns came up with the rebound, and Patton connected on a layup to bring UCR to within one, 69-68, with only 12 seconds left.
After another UCR foul, the Tigers hit the front end of another set of free throws, but missed the second giving the Highlanders a chance to tie or win on the last possession. Pacific had a number of fouls to give, however, and they were able to whittle the clock down to five seconds before allowing UC Riverside to get into its offense.
Robert Smith found himself just outside the three-point line by the right elbow with the clock running down. Earlier in the game, Smith sent the crowd into a frenzy with a 55-footer as time expired at the end of the first half. A second buzzer beater wasn't in the cards, however, as his shot came up just short, and the Tigers held on for the win.
Patton led all players with 28 points while Smith added 16. Lorenzo McCloud scored 15 points to lead four Tigers in double-figures.
For the game, Pacific knocked down 48.1 percent of its field goals while hitting 41.2 percent from downtown, while the Highlanders shot 46.4 percent from the floor. UCR was dominant in the paint, outscoring the Tigers 34-24, and grabbed 33 rebounds to just 28 for Pacific.
The Highlanders have just two games remaining on their regular season schedule starting on Thursday, March 7 with a 7 pm PT tip at Cal Poly.
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