Box Score Riverside— The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team tipped off Big West Conference play Thursday evening in dramatic fashion holding off a late Cal State Fullerton rally before emerging with an 84-78 overtime win
The Highlanders' (8-7, 1-0) led by as many as 18 points in the first half, connecting on 51.4 percent of their shots from the field including 8 of 14 from beyond the arc. Three of those three-pointers came from Taylor Johns who had two made threes in his entire career before Thursday night. Johns scored 18 in the first 20 minutes of play, but he was matched shot for shot by Alex Harris who made nine of 11 for 19 points in the first. The Titans (8-8, 0-1) made 58.3 percent of their shots before intermission, but the Highlanders took 11 more shots in the period thanks to an 8-1 advantage in offensive rebounds and built a 13-point halftime lead.
A 12-0 Fullerton run early in the second cut the Highlanders lead to three, but UC Riverside kept the Titans at bay until a three-pointer by Lenerryl Johnson tied the game at 61 with 5:03 to go. Just over a minute later, a Johnson jumper gave Fullerton its first lead since early in the first, and with 1:36 remaining, a Johnson lay up put the Titans up three.
Johns made one of two free throws with 41 seconds remaining, and Nick Gruninger made a pair of free throws with 10 ticks on the clock to send the game into overtime.
UC Riverside never trailed in the extra stanza, taking control with 2:06 on the clock. A Gruninger steal transformed into a thundering Johns dunk to put the Highlanders up three, and a Steven Thornton three-point play with 36 seconds remaining sealed the win.
Johns finished with 29 points, just two points behind his career high. Thornton added 17 points, while Gruninger chipped in with 14.
For the Titans, Johnson finished with 29 points including 10 in overtime. Harris added 25 as the duo combined to score 69 percent of Cal State Fullerton's points on the night.
The Highlanders hit the road this Saturday, January 10 for a 7 pm tip at UC Irvine.
