Honoluu, HI—The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team watched a 10-point lead slip away in the second half at the Stan Sheriff Center in Hawai'i Thursday evening, but the Highlanders drained nine of 10 free throws over the final 1:59 to upend the top-ranked team in the Big West, 77-71.

UCR had the Rainbow Warriors on their heals for much of the night thanks to some Tenacious D and a great shooting performance from the charity stripe for the top free throw shooting team in the Big West. The Highlanders held Hawai'i to 38.1 percent shooting from the field including 25.9 percent from beyond the arc while making 27 of 32 free throws on the evening.

The win moves the Highlanders into a tie for fifth place in the conference with UC Davis, and prevents Hawai'i from clinching the Big West regular season championship for at least one more game.
 

Big West Standings (through Feb. 25)	Big West
Team	W	L	Pct
Hawai'i	11	2	.917
UC Irvine	10	3	.769
Long Beach State	9	4	.692
UC Santa Barbara	8	5	.615
UC Riverside	5	8	.385
UC Davis	5	8	.385
CSUN *	5	9	.357
Cal Poly	4	10	.286
Cal State Fullerton	3	11	.214
* CSUN is not eligible for the conference tournament due to self-imposed sanctions

Jaylen Bland got the Highlanders off on the right foot in the first half, connecting on his program record-breaking 101st three-pointer of the season with 5:12 to go in the first. That pushed him one past Maurice Pullum's single-season mark of 100 set back in the 1988-89 season. But Bland didn't stop there, draining three more shots from long distance in the first half en route to 14 points before the intermission.

DJ Sylvester didn't miss a single shot in the first half going three-for-three from the field, including two for two from long range, and two for two from the free throw line for 10 points.

UC Riverside's defense limited the Rainbow Warriors to 36.7 percent shooting from the field during the first 20 minutes of play and forced Hawai'i to miss eight of 11 three-pointers as the Highlanders led 36-32.

UCR led by two, 44-42, with 16:20 remaining in the game, when the Highlanders went on an 8-0 run to extend their advantage to 10. Menno Dijkstra and Secean Johnson each scored three points in the run, while Bland capped it off it with a pair of free throws.

It was still a 10-point UC Riverside advantage with 9:18 to go, but the Rainbow Warriors scored 12 of the next 14 points to tie the game at 63. Hawai'i took the lead for the first time in the second half with 3:35 on the clock, but a Bland three-pointer with 2:46 to go, followed by nine of 10 free throws sealed the deal.

The win is the first-ever for the Highlanders against Hawai'i on the island who dropped the first four meetings between the clubs in the 50th state.

Bland finished with a team-high 20 points, while Johnson added 18, and DJ Sylvester chipped in with 18. Aaron Valdes paced Hawai'i with a game-high 23 points.

UC Riverside remains on the road this weekend, returning to the mainland for a 4 pm PT tip at Long Beach State on Saturday, February 27.