Abilene, TX—The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team (5-5) is looking to put a stop to a three-game losing skid, and earn a split on its trip to the Lone Star State this week, as the Highlanders take on Abilene Christian Friday, December 18 beginning at 5 pm PT.
UCR dropped a 72-59 decision at Houston Baptist on Tuesday (
box score/
recap) while suffering through its most difficult shooting night of the year, connecting on a season-low 32.8 percent from the field and 15.0 percent from beyond the arc.
The Highlanders leading scorers, Taylor Johns and Jaylen Bland, scored 16 and 14 points respectively, but they went a combined 11 of 32 from the floor and two for 11 from long distance. Bland ranks third in the Big West in points per game, and is seventh in the nation in made threes per game. Johns would be leading the conference in scoring and rebounding, but he has yet to play in enough games this season to qualify for league statistical rankings.
Defensively, UCR remains one of the top teams in the nation out on the perimeter where they hold the opposition to 27.0-percent shooting—the 12th lowest figure in all of Division I.
Road wins have been elusive of late for the Highlanders, who are 1-4 away from the friendly confines of the SRC Arena this year. The team's lone road win this season came in a 74-69 decision at Lamar on November 29.
Abilene Christian improved to 4-5 last weekend with a, 69-46, win over Schreiner. Three of the team's four wins this season are at home.
The Wildcats are averaging 73.0 points per game on the year, led by freshman Jaylen Franklin (13.9 points per game) and Parker Wentz (10.1). Franklin does most of his damage on the inside where he connects on 56.1 percent of his shots, while Wentz is one of the top long-distance threats in the nation making 54.5 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
As a team, Abilene Christian makes 44.6 percent of its field goal attempts overall, and 36.1 percent from three-point land. Turnovers tend to play a role in their box scores as the Wildcats commit 14.7 miscues per game while forcing 15.9 from the opposition. By way of contrast, UC Riverside averages just 12.8 turnovers per game.
UC Riverside and Abilene Christian have faced off against one another on two previous occasions, with the Highlanders winning both meetings (
view results). The teams played back on January 7, 1985 with UCR winning, 85-67, and on November 29, 2014 with the Highlanders beating the Wildcats 76-56 (
box score/
recap).
