ANAHEIM, Calif.—The stage is set for the 2019 Big West Tournament at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. The #8 UC Riverside Basketball Team is set to face #1 UC Irvine in the first round of the three-round contest this Thursday night at 6 PM. The Highlanders and Anteaters has faced each other in this quarter-final round in four of the last six tournaments, with the Eaters coming out on top each time.
UCR will be looking for its first tourney win under Head Coach David Patrick and the program's first win since the 2010-2011 season.
LAST TIME
Last year, the Highlanders battled at the end of the conference season under Interim Head Coach and UCR Alumnus Justin Bell to make to the Big West Tournament and nearly knocked off the No. 1 seed in UC Davis. The Aggies edged out the Highlanders 70-66.
ALL-CONFERENCE
Junior Dikymbe Martin was the sole Highlander to earn All-Conference honors being named an Honorable Mention.
The Big West's top three point shooter ended the season with a .450 mark from beyond the arc and led his team in scoring all year finishing the regular season at 15.2 points per game, which ranks 7th in the conference. He has been truly efficient from any spot on the floor shooting .481 from the field, which ranks 8th.
Martin eclipsed the 20+ point mark in six different games this year including a season high 25 in the conference opener against CSUN.
On February 14th, UCR hosted and defeated UCSB in what would be a historical night for Martin who dropped 18 points and became just the fifth Highlander in the Division I Era to join the 1,000 points club. This feat also earned him the Big West Player of the Week Award just a few days later.
BUZZER BEATER
The Highlanders are coming off of a 71-70 win over UC Davis last weekend that sealed the team's spot in the Big West Tourney. After enduring a late Aggie comeback, UCR found themselves down one with just 3.9 seconds to go. Sophomore Dominick Pickett inbounded from the sideline hitting freshman Callum McRae, who spun from the elbow and scored the game winner with just a second left.
THE BIG MAN
7-Footer Callum McRae has truly shined towards the end of his rookie season scoring double digits in 10 of the last 14 games. He has also collected four double-doubles including a career high night in a loss at CSUN where he put up 20 pts & 14 reb.
1K CLUB
On Thursday, February 14th junior Dikymbe Martin became just the 5th Highlander in the Division I era to reach 1,000 career points. A tough layup in the 2nd half of a 71-57 win over UCSB would get Martin to 1K and he now sits at 1,041.
This milestone earned him his third Big West Athlete of the Week Award and DK is now the only Highlander to earn the honor this season.
ONE FOR THE BOOKS
UCR's 74-51 victory over Cal Poly (1/23) was the program's largest margin of victory in Big West Conference play. The Highlanders outscored the Mustangs 39-19 in the second half holding Cal Poly to .250 shooting.=
THE FIRST OF MANY
First year Head Coach David Patrick earned his first Big West Conference win on January, 26th as the Highlanders topped 3rd place Hawaii 75-71. UCR made a total of 13 threes, shot .537 from the field, and collected a record tying 26 assists (vs NCAA Team - DI Era).
BREAKING RECORDS
The Highlanders have tied or broken several Division I program records this season..
Single Game
Points: 112 (vs Bethesda 1/4)
Assists: 31 (vs Bethesda 1/4)
T-Assists vs NCAA Team: 26 (vs Hawaii 1/19)
Turnovers: 3 (vs Bethesda 1/4)
Field Goals: 45 (vs Bethesda 1/4)
T-Indiv 3pts: 7 - Dragan Elkaz (vs Hawaii 1/19)
Largest Conference Win - +23 (at Cal Poly 1/23)
Season
3pts Made: 274
3pts Percentage: .378
