Callum McRae Post 2018
74
Winner UC Riverside UCR 8-13 (2-3 BWC)
51
Cal Poly CP 4-13 (0-4 BWC)
Winner
UC Riverside UCR
8-13 (2-3 BWC)
74
Final
51
Cal Poly CP
4-13 (0-4 BWC)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UC Riverside UCR 35 39 74
Cal Poly CP 32 19 51

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men's Basketball Earns 2nd Straight Win Topping Cal Poly 74-51

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.— The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team (8-13, 2-3) won its second straight game Wednesday night as the Highlanders dominated host Cal Poly (4-13, 0-4) 74-51. Playing on the road has been a challenge for the team, but UCR found its stride in San Luis Obispo out-rebounding the Mustangs by 27 and holding them to .250 shooting in the second half to win its first away game.

"We were rebounding and scoring really well to start the game, but the defense wasn't there," Head Coach David Patrick said. "Then at about the seven-minute mark we really started locking down and taking away the perimeter shots and really hammered them on the glass, so I credit our guys for that. Those are the things you need to do to win on the road."

The Highlanders went with their third different starting lineup in the past four games Wednesday night mixing in Ajani Kennedy, who has averaged 13 points over the last six games, to give the sophomore stretch-forward his first career start. The strategy would pay off as Kennedy and freshman big Callum McRae, who cracked the starting lineup a few games ago, combined for 29 points, 17 rebounds, and four assists.

Kennedy led all scorers with 15 and collected nine rebounds, four of which were offensive. McRae added a career high 14 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.

"To be really good as a team you need to have three or four guys that can score in double-digits," Patrick said. "[Dikymbe Martin] is going to get his points, but some nights when the other teams really lock him on him, we have to be able to rely on other guys to score and we had that tonight. We can really hurt you a lot of different ways."

 The Mustangs aimed to make a statement out the gates hitting several threes and controlling the lead for much of the first half, but as the clock ticked the Highlanders became more confident and more wise defensively and eventually iced the game at 14-14 with 10 minutes to go.

Senior guard Ryker Pierce would enter the game and give UCR the spark it needed knocking down two threes, scoring in the post, and playing agressive defense. He would end with a season high eight points on 3-of-3 shooting.

"Ryker has been someone who has worked hard since the day I got here and has kept an incredible attitude throughout," Patrick said. "We brought him in tonight after seeing them run their zone defense because we knew he would get a shot and kudos to him for being ready and knocking them down."

The Highlanders nearly trailed heading into the locker rooms but freshman Dragan Elkaz, who had a career high 25 points just a few days ago, made back-to-back shots in the final minute to put UCR up 35-32 at the half.

The second half would be all Highlanders as the team played impeccable defense and shot .519 from the field to out score the Mustangs 39-19. Cal Poly could only manage nine points in the final 10 minutes of action. UCR seemed to just do everything right as the team out-rebounded Cal Poly 48-21 and shot .500 from both the field and from three.

"I've been a lot of places with some good teams and players and I don't think I have ever seen a team win the rebound battle by that much," Patrick said. "It's really just a testament to our hard work and dedication to getting better. Our numbers are going up every game and winning the rebounding column always gives you a chance to win."

The Highlanders truly earned a team win as the love was spread all around. Sophomore Dominick Pickett led the team in two categories grabbing a career high 10 rebounds and dishing out six assists. Elkaz finished with 14 on 4-of-6 shooting and Martin rounded out the double digit scorers dropping 11 and adding three assists and two steals. Senior center Menno Dijkstra made his presence felt as well collecting nine rebounds and scoring seven.

UCR will look for its third straight win this Saturday as the team heads to UC Irvine. Tip-off is set for 7 PM in Irvine, CA.