Athens, OH—The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team (9-5) closes out 2015 with a Wednesday, December 30 trip to the Buckeye State, where the Highlanders take on the Ohio Bobcats beginning at 4 pm PT.
A win over the Bobcats would make the 2015-16 version of the Highlanders the first UC Riverside Men's Basketball team since 1998-99 to win 10 of its first 15 games.
UCR moved to four games over .500 for the first time since January of 2009, thanks to an 81-72, come-from-behind victory at Morgan State, Monday (
box score/
recap). Secean Johnson led the way, nearly becoming the first member of the Highlanders to record a 20-point, 20-rebound game since the program made the transition to Division I. The junior finished three rebounds shy of the mark, establishing career highs with 22 points and 17 boards.
Johnson's 17 rebounds are the second most in the Division I history of the program, three off of Vili Morton's record 20 set against Long Beach State on February 2, 2002 (
recap).
The Highlanders topped 50 percent shooting from the field for the third time in four games, Monday, and are connecting on 50.7 percent of their shots over that span. UC Riverside's seasonal shooting percentages of .447 from the floor and .372 from long distance would all challenge Division I era benchmarks should they hold throughout the course of the season. The current DI records are .443 and .377 set in 2003-04 and 2008-09 respectively.
Jaylen Bland scored 16 points against the Bears, and ranks second in the Big West in scoring average at 17.1 points per game. Taylor Johns was limited to just eight points in 21 minutes at Morgan State due to foul trouble, and he is second on the Highlanders in scoring at 14.9 points per game.
Ohio is 8-3 on the season, including a perfect 6-0 at home. The Bobcats come out of the holiday break carrying a four-game winning streak, and boasting one of the top offenses in the nation as they average 80.3 points per game. Ohio makes 48.5 percent of its field goals, 37.3 percent of its three-pointers and 76.1 percent of its free throws.
Bobcats' opponents have had success from long range connecting on 37.7 percent of their three-pointers, and have also forced Ohio into committing 14.5 turnovers per game compared to 12.1 for the opposition.
Five different Bobcats are averaging in double figures led by Antonio Campbell's 15.2 points per game. He also makes 59.6 percent of his field goals and 38.5 percent of his three-pointers, while grabbing 9.3 rebounds per game. Jaaron Simmons chips in with 14.5 points per game and 7.8 assists per game.
This is the first-ever meeting between UC Riverside and Ohio.
Next up for the Highlanders is a January 2 home game against CSU Bakersfield. The Runners are 8-5 on the year pending the outcome of a December 31 home game against Morgan State. Seven of those eight wins are at home, however, as CSUB is 1-5 away from the Icardo Center.
The Roadrunners boast four players averaging double figures this season led by Damiyne Durham who averages 14.2 points per game as a reserve. More than 68 percent of Durham's shots are from three-point range where he connects on 38.1 percent of his shots. Aly Ahmed averages 13.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while Kevin Mays chips in with 12.6 points and 8.6 boards and Dedrick Basile adds 10.5 points and 3.6 assists.
Bakersfield has taken 133 more shots than their opponents on the year thanks in part to grabbing 13.2 offensive rebounds per game compared 8.5 for the opposition.
The Highlanders are 31-41 against the Roadrunners over their 72-game history (
view results). Since CSUB made the transition to Division I, UC Riverside is 3-2 including a 59-58 road win a year ago (
box score/
recap). A Johns' layup with 12 seconds remaining helped the Highlanders erase an 11-point lead.
