One Game On Tap For Men's Basketball As Highlanders Travel To Northridge Thursday

January 30	7 pm PT	at Cal State Northridge	Fox Sports 1350 AM	ESPN3	Listen Live	Live Stats	Purchase Tickets
					Game Notes

Northridge, CA—The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team has just one game on the docket this week as the Highlanders travel to Cal State Northridge on Thursday, January 30 for a 7 pm PT meeting with the Matadors.

UCR went 1-1 last week mounting two epic comebacks in the process. Trailing by 17 in the second half vs. UC Santa Barbara on Thursday, the Highlanders sent the game into overtime before falling, 68-65 (box score/recap). On Saturday, UC Riverside fell behind by 11 early, but scored the final 10 points of the game to beat Cal Poly, 61-58 (box score/recap).

Steven Jones recorded his first career double-double in the win over the Mustangs with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Sam Finley ran his streak of consecutive double-digit scoring efforts to nine with 10 points. Chris Patton led the Highlanders in scoring in both games with 23 against the Gauchos and 17 against Cal Poly. Patton (13.4 ppg), Taylor Johns (12.4) and Finley (11.3) are each averaging double figures in scoring for the Highlanders on the season.

After opening conference play with home wins over UC Davis and Hawai'i, the Matadors have lost four straight games including road losses at UC Irvine (72-66) and Long Beach State (76-62) last week.

Cal State Northridge brings a high-powered offense with them into Thursday's game, but they give up points on the defensive end as well. The Matadors are ranked third in the conference in points per game averaging 73.6 per game, but they allow the second most at 74.7 per.

CSUN is the second best three-point shooting team in the Big West at 35.6 percent, but the Matadors take the fewest shots from long distance in the league at fewer than 11 per game. They make their living at the free throw line, however, where they atttempt more than 26 per game, and connect on a conference-leading 77.7 percent.

Defensively, Northridge allows the second highest opponent field goal percentage at 45.2 percent, but they pace the circuit in steals at 7.19 per game.

Stephen Maxwell (17.1 ppg), Stephen Hicks (16.3) and Josh Greene (14.8) give the Matadors the most prolific trio of scorers in the Big West as all three are ranked in the top 10. Maxwell and Hicks are also ranked in the top 10 in field goal percentage at 59.2 and 51.7 respectively, while Greene's 90-percent shooting from the free throw line is the 15th best mark in the nation.

One Game On Tap For Men's Basketball As Highlanders Travel To Northridge Thursday

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