Honolulu, HI—The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team enters the week tied for fifth place in the Big West, and could move into the upper division of the conference this week with games against Hawai'i and UC Irvine.
The Highlanders pulled even with the Rainbow Warriors following a 71-66 overtime win over Cal State Fullerton on Saturday (
box score/
recap). Taylor Johns scored seven of the team's final 10 points in the extra period, and finished with a 18-point, 15-rebound double-double.
Jaylen Bland added 25 points, and moved into sole possession of sixth place on UCR's single-season, made three-pointers list with 74. He is now 26 behind Maurice Pullum's program record of 100 with seven games to play in the regular season.
Johns leads the Highlanders in scoring at 16.6 points per game followed by Bland at 15.5. Steven Thornton gives UC Riverside a trio of double figure scorers averaging 10.1 points per game.
Hawai'i has alternated wins and loses since the start of Big West play, and enters the week tied with UCR at 4-5. The Rainbow Warriors dropped a 75-74 decision at UC Santa Barbara over the weekend, leading by as many as 13 in the second half and by 10 with just over five minutes remaining. A 13-0 Gauchos run gave UCSB the lead, however, as Santa Barbara held on for the one-point win.
The three-point line is Hawai'i Achilles Heal in Big West play as they make just 28.0 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc, and allow opponents to connect on 42.5 percent of their long-distance shots. The Rainbow Warriors counter that by forcing 19.3 turnovers per game
The Highlanders are 2-5 all-time against Hawai'i (
view results) following a 66-62 victory over the Rainbow Warriors on January 17 of this year (
box score/
recap).
