Riverside—The UC riverside Men's Basketball (6-5) is looking to end its pre-New Year schedule with a winning record for the first time since the 2008-09 season when the Highlanders were 7-4 when the ball dropped.
UCR has won four of its last six games, with its two losses coming at #23 San Diego State and UCLA (
box score/
recap). Jaylen Bland (9 points, 7 rebounds) and Taylor Johns (7 points, 11 rebounds) nearly recorded double-doubles against the Aztecs, and the juniors continue to pace the Highlanders offense averaging 13.7 and 15.6 points respectively.
Johns is also averaging 9.0 rebounds per game this year. Should he maintain that average it would be the highest for a member of the Highlanders since Vili Morton esablished the program's Division I era record of 9.3 during the 2001-02 season.
UC Riverside's offense (68.2 ppg, .439 FG%, .361 3G%, .721 FT%) is challenging a number of other Division I era records—points per game, 69.0 in 2003-04; field goal percentage, .443 in 2003-04; three-point field goal percentage, .377 in 2008-09; free throw percentage, .723 in 2002-03.
Morgan State is 2-11 heading into the week, following their 81-53 loss at Marquette on December 28. One of their wins was a 63-62 decision over UC Irvine on December 16, while the other came against Liberty at the Cancun Challenge in Mexico.
Blake Bozeman (13.0) and Cedric Blossom (12.8) are the top scorer's on the squad, but as a team, the Bears are making just 34.8 percent of their shots from the field and 26.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Defensively, they are allowing the opposition to make 47.6 percent of its shots and 36.8 percent from long distance while outscoring Morgan State by nearly 10 points per game.
This is the first meeting between the Highlanders and Bears in the history of the two programs.
