Highlanders Rebound to Victory on the Road in San Jose

Presented by Altura Credit Union

Box Score San Jose, CA—UC Riverside (8-5,0-0) came to the Events Center in San Jose looking to rebound from their tough loss to the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona at home on Thursday night and the Highlanders did not disappoint. Beating their Mountain West opponent, the San Jose State Spartans (3-9,0-2) 80-65.

The first half was a game of tag, as both teams had seven lead changes and tied up four times. The Spartans came out on fire connecting on their first three, 3- point attempts, putting San Jose up by nine early, but the Highlanders rallied behind two of their newcomers who were playing in front of family and friends from the Bay Area — redshirt junior, Arinze Chidom and freshman, Zyon Pullin. Chidom chipped in 10 first half points and four rebounds, while Pullin added eight points to go along with four assists. Both players combined and accounted for 30 of the 39 points for the Highlanders going into halftime. UC Riverside's bench also made its presence felt, scoring 21 first half points as they led 39-37.

The second half was all UC Riverside, as the Highlanders dominated for the next 20 minutes outscoring the Spartans 41-28. It was a complete team effort offensively and defensively for the first seven minutes, as the Highlanders pulled away shooting 75% going six of eight from the field and two of two from beyond the arc. The lead ballooned to 18 with five minutes left in the game and the Spartans never got closer than 15 in their loss at home.

UC Riverside out rebounded the Spartans as they won the board play 46-35 behind Callum McRae and Arinze Chidom with 9 and 8 rebounds, respectively. Four different Highlanders shared the wealth scoring in double-figures, with Chidom (17), Martin (15), Pullin (14), and Willborn (12) to lead in the victory. It was the first time this season the Highlanders had four players in double figures. The paint and bench were also dominated by the Highlanders as they won the battle inside outscoring the Spartans 44-18 and the UCR bench combined for 39 points compared to San Jose State's 14.

Head Coach David Patrick said in his post game interview, "I know we have a talented group and unfortunately we've had different pieces every two games with a new person on the roster and roles have changed week to week. But with the addition of Chidom and DK (Martin) in the lineup and the way Callum and Angus are playing it gives us a tough inside-out punch. Something we were able to utilize tonight versus the Spartans."

With the victory at San Jose, the Highlanders (8-5) are off to their best start since the 2015-16 season when they started (9-5). It is the second best start in their Division 1 era since the 2008-09 season. UCR is currently ranked in the Top 20 nationally in two different defensive categories including number 10 in defensive rebounding and 16th in defensive FG% vs opponents.

The Highlanders are back in action Saturday, December 28th at Fresno State at 6pm. You can listen on gohighlanders.com