Davis, CA – The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team (8-20, 3-11) trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half at UC Davis (19-9, 10-4) on Saturday, but battled back to take a two-point lead with just seven seconds left on a Menno Dijkstra three-pointer.
Unfortunately for the Highlanders, the Aggies found an answer in the final seconds, as TJ Shorts II's bucket with a second left helped give the home side a slim 64-63 win.
KEY RUNS
UC Davis ended the first half on a 15-5 run, taking a 33-23 lead into halftime. The Aggies took their largest lead, 46-32, with 14:24 remaining in the game.
Similar to its recent win over Cal State Fullerton just three nights earlier, UC Riverside looked a different team in the second half, shooting 50 percent (15-30 FG) over the final 20 minutes compared to 33.3 percent (8-24 FG) in the first.
No Highlander put up more second half points than guard Chance Murray (14), who scored seven straight midway through the period to bring UCR within a point, 48-47. The senior finished just a point shy of a career-high, tallying 24 points (7-17 FG) to go along with 6 boards.
Trailing 62-60 with less than 10 seconds to go, junior Menno Dijkstra knocked down his second triple of the night, giving the Highlanders their first lead since the opening minutes. Shorts answered with a go-ahead layup for the Aggies with just a second left, and UC Riverside would not get a final shot attempt off.
GAME NOTES
Murray (24 points) surpassed the 20-point mark for the second time in three games and for the third time this season.
Dijkstra (2-3 3FG) and guard DJ Sylvester (3-3 FT) finished with 10 points apiece. Over his last four games, Dijkstra has now made 6-of-11 (.545) from three-point range, scoring at least 8 points in each game.
Sophomore guard Dikymbe Martin finished with 4 points on 2-of-8 (.250) shooting, ending his run of five consecutive games hitting double-figures.
The Highlanders will return to Riverside for Senior Night next Thursday, Mar. 1 as they take on Cal Poly in their 2017-18 home finale.
