Honolulu, HI – The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team (6-17, 1-8) earned its first Big West victory of the season Wednesday night at Hawaii (13-9, 4-5), prevailing 64-60 to give Interim Head Coach Justin Bell his first career head coaching win.

"From a morale standpoint, our guys have been fired up all year," Bell said. "They're ready to play, they practice hard, we demand a lot out of them, and they come every day ready to practice. I think because they practice hard, they believe."

KEY RUNS
Trailing by four with 7:06 left in the game, five straight points from Chance Murray capped a 10-2 Highlander run, giving them their first lead of the second half, 50-49. After Hawaii regained the lead, a Murray triple would put UC Riverside back up, 55-53 at the 2:30 mark.

Over the final 91 seconds, Menno Dijkstra and DJ Sylvester contributed with huge three-pointers of their own, putting the Highlanders up 62-57 with just 16 seconds on the clock. Following a Hawaii three which cut it to two with under 10 seconds left, a pair of Dijkstra free throws would ice the game in UCR's favor.

GAME NOTES
Junior Menno Dijkstra tied a career-best with team-highs of 17 points and 6 rebounds, finishing 6-of-12 (.500) from the field and a stellar 3-of-4 (.750) from beyond the arc. It was the third time in his career that he finished with 17 points, and the first time this season.

"[Dijkstra's] been a little banged up all year, but we've been waiting for this Menno," Bell said. "What a great night for him to step up on the road, build some confidence, and he's getting more and more healthy, so we're excited about that."

Chance Murray added 16 points (7-12 FG) to go along with a game-high 6 assists. The senior from Los Angeles did most of his damage in the second half, when he went 5-of-8 (.625) for 12 points, including a stretch late in the game where he scored 10 consecutive Highlander points to keep them within striking distance.

UC Riverside outshot its opponent from the field for the second straight game (.429 to .333) after being outshot in its previous eight games.

Redshirt sophomore guard DJ Sylvester contributed with another efficient night, tallying 12 points on 5-of-10 (.500) shooting.

The win also marks the third straight time that UCR has won at Hawaii.

The Highlanders will return home for 3 of their next 4 games, beginning with this Saturday's matchup with UC Irvine at 5:00 p.m.