UCRMBB Willborn III
65
Winner UC Riverside UCR 11-6,1-0 BWC
59
UC Davis UCD 6-11,0-1 BWC
Winner
UC Riverside UCR
11-6,1-0 BWC
65
Final
59
UC Davis UCD
6-11,0-1 BWC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UC Riverside UCR 37 28 65
UC Davis UCD 29 30 59

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Highlanders Open Big West Play with, 65-59, Win at UC Davis

Presented by Altura Credit Union

Altura Credit Union
DAVIS, Calif — One year ago, Head Coach David Patrick and his UC Highlanders (11-6, 1-0) didn't get their first Big West Conference road win until January 23rd (2018) at Cal Poly, winning 74-51. Tonight, in their Big West Conference opener, the Highlanders went into UC Davis (6-11, 0-1), winning 65-59 in front of a stunned UC Davis Aggies home crowd.  UC Riverside is continuing to surprise the college basketball world as they are off to their best start in the program's Division 1 history, already surpassing last year's win total at the start of conference play. 

"It's great," stated Head Coach, David Patrick, moments after leaving the floor following the conclusion of the game. "I don't try and harp on single accolades, but I think for this group, I talk about my coaching staff and the work we've done from day one since we got the job; and our team — the returners, the ones that were here, Dikymbe Martin and Dom Pickett. They haven't questioned anything my staff and I have asked of them, and the guys in the program last year like Watson, McRae, Elkaz and MacDonald, they have just followed suit and they are kind of beacons for the new guys.  Even though they are younger as sophomores, Kye, Arinze, George rely on our guys from last year, so I'm just really proud of this team and to get double-digit wins."

"College basketball is hard," Patrick continued. "You never know when the next win will come, but we will celebrate this one. To have double-digit wins this early in the season is a great feat for our program and where UC Riverside is and where we are going."

The first half was all Highlanders as they dominated from the start, going on a 9-2 run in the first five minutes of play.  After the first media timeout, UC Riverside continued to build upon that lead as the lead ballooned to 12 at the eight-minute mark of the first half.  The Aggies would close the gap to eight going into halftime with the Highlanders leading 37-29 at the break.  

The Highlanders shot 62% in the first half, going 16 of 26 from the field and defensively held UC Davis to just 46% shooting and holding Davis' leading scorer, Joe Mooney to just three first half points. 

The Highlanders out rebounded UC Davis 14-11 in the first half of play and got 24 points in the paint from the big men compared to just six by the Aggies. UC Riverside showed an uptempo style, scoring 10 points in transition after Davis committed nine first half turnovers.  George Willborn III continued to show why Coach Patrick loves his tenacity as he led the Highlanders in scoring in the first 20 minutes, scoring 11 points on five of 11 shooting.

The second half started much like the first, as UC Riverside continued to dominate on the visitor's floor.  It was a complete team effort both offensively and defensively, holding the Aggies to just 37% from the floor for the game.  UCR got great effort from nearly everyone in the second half as Dikymbe Martin came off the bench to hit two big three-pointers to keep UC Davis at bay as the Aggies got within three points late in the game.  


Chidom, McWilliam and Willborn III each scored 11, combining for 33 points, but it was the play of Dominick Pickett, who scored 13 points, eight in the second half to seal the victory for the Highlanders.

"During the non-conference schedule, we really talked about guarding well without fouling and I looked at the stat sheet after and we shot 16 free throws to their five for the game," Patrick continued. ."That means we are covering our scheme while keeping them off the free throw line, which is key to winning and I thought our points in the paint, kept us in the game and Angus McWilliam didn't miss a shot in the paint and we have to find a way to get him the ball. I thought all in all, from start to finish they followed the game plan and that's why we walked away with the victory," Coach Patrick said of what led his team to victory tonight.

Talking about his team's depth, Coach Patrick said this of his young squad, "It's definitely great to have depth, when you talk about Arinze and Dom each sat for 12 minutes in that first half and whoever we slated in, Zac Watson, Zyon Pullin, they held the team together and I kept two guys who were starters last year off the floor with Dragan Elkaz and DJ MacDonald. It's not that they aren't capable, but at some point we can only play an X amount of guys.  Its a good weapon to have those guys (Elkaz and MacDonald) in your pocket and also holds guys accountable, if you aren't producing, we can easily go to the bench and its next man up.  That is what's great about this team.  We have depth and high character guys that always play hard."

UC Riverside, returns to the SRC on Saturday, January 11, 2020 at 5pm as they face a Cal State Fullerton team that recently beat UCLA on the road and just one year removed from playing in the NCAA Tournament.  You can catch the game on Big West TV on go highlanders.com