Riverside, CA—The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team returns to the SRC Arena this week for a pair of games to close out the 2016 portion of the team's schedule—Wednesday, December 28 at 7 pm PT against Utah Valley, and Saturday, December 31 at 2 pm against Grand Canyon.
The Highlanders have lost six straight games heading into the week following a 73-55 defeat at Denver (box score/recap). UC Riverside was without the services of Malik Thames for the last two games, and the team's post trio of Alex Larsson, Menno Dijkstra and Brandon Rosser was limited by foul trouble to just 28 combined minutes of action in the loss to the Pioneers.
UCR has struggled defensively of late, as each of their last six opponents has connected on better than 46 percent of their shots from the field, and four of those have made better than 50 percent of their shots.
Seacean Johnson leads the team in scoring at 11.4 points per game, and over the last five games he is averaging 13.4 points per contest. Johnson has done a great deal of damage at the free throw line of late, going 21 for 26 over the last three games. Last season, the senior led the team with 124 makes from the charity stripe—the ninth most in the history of the program.
Junior transfer Chance Murray is second on the team in scoring at 11.0 points per game, while freshman Dikymbe Martin and Gentrey Thomas are tied for third at 8.6. Martin is the team's top threat from long distance making 52.4 percent of his three-pointers.
Utah Valley is 6-6 heading into Wednesday's game following a 72-47 victory over Montana Tech on December 23. That win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Wolverines. Utah Valley is 4-1 at home, but 2-5 on the road.
The Wolverines and Highlanders share two common opponents this season—Denver and Utah. UC Riverside dropped an 85-67 decision on the road to Utah, and lost 73-55 to the Pioneers on the road. Utah Valley lost to Utah. 87-80, but beat Denver, 88-85.
The Wolverines are averaging 80.5 points per game, and boast three double-digit scorers. Conner Toolson leads the team with 14.5 points per game, followed closely by Isaac Nelson, who averages a double-double with 13.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Nelson also ranks among the top 20 in the nation with a .615 field goal percentage.
Kenneth Ogbe also averages in double figures for Utah Valley at 10.5 points per game, and is the team's top sharp shooter from long range at 54.5 percent—the fourth best percentage in the nation.
This is the first meeting between the Highlanders and Wolverines.
Grand Canyon is 8-5 entering the week, and takes on Big West foe Cal Poly at home Wednesday before traveling to the Inland Empire. The 'Lopes have won three straight, and five of their last six games. Three of the team's losses are to top-25 teams—#1 Duke, #14 Louisville, and #19 Arizona.
Grand Canyon guard DeWayne Russell is the nation's third leading scorer at 25.2 points per game, and also leads the team in assists at nearly five per game. Guard Joshua Braun was averaging 14.5 points per game for the 'Lopes before missing the last five games with a knee injury. A redshirt junior, Braun has had four knee surgeries over the last five years.
The Highlanders are 12-21 all-time against the 'Lopes, with 32 of those games coming prior to UC Riverside's move to Division I. Grand Canyon won the most recent meeting between the teams in a 71-69 decision on January 4, 2015 (
box score/
recap).
