UCRMBB Chidom Shoot
Carlos Puma
60
UC Riverside UCR 0-1,0-0 Big West
66
Winner Pacific UOP 1-0,0-0 WCC
UC Riverside UCR
0-1,0-0 Big West
60
Final
66
Pacific UOP
1-0,0-0 WCC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UC Riverside UCR 27 33 60
Pacific UOP 38 28 66

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Highlanders’ Second Half Surge Comes Up Short in Stockton, Pacific Gets Past UCR 66-60

STOCKTON, Calif. – The final step in the long, arduous process of getting to tip-off for the 2020-21 basketball season amidst a global pandemic, finally took place on Wednesday, November 25, as the UC Riverside Highlanders began their 2020-21 campaign in Stockton, California, on the road against the University of the Pacific (UOP) Tigers. 

Like the majority of basketball programs around the country, The Highlanders return to action today was their first game since college basketball came to a screeching halt in March due to the novel coronavirus. 

The first half was an exercise for both teams in getting re-acclimated and working to find chemistry and get in rhythm. A low-scoring affair through the early part of the opening stanza, the game was knotted at 7 before the Tigers stretched their lead to 14-7. However, UCR would keep things within reach and never let Pacific pull too far away. Highlander freshman, Wil Tattersall, hit a turnaround jumper for his first career points in a UCR uniform, cutting the Tigers' lead to 14-9 with just under 12 minutes remaining in the first half, before teammate Flynn Cameron, who would finish the game with eight points, hit a three-pointer to cut UOP's lead to 15-12. The first half would eventually conclude with UCR shooting 41% from the field and 71% from the line, but just 18% from beyond the arc, and left the Highlanders trailing by 11, 38-27. 

"This is the first time this group has had the opportunity to play together," said Assistant Coach, Mike Czepil, who stepped in to coach the team today for Head Coach, Mike Magpayo (who had to unexpectedly fly back to Southern California to be with his wife, Caroline, for the birth of their son, Luka James Magpayo). "We have a lot of new guys on the team this year and several who are playing for the first time. Combined with not having played a game since early March, it is a big obstacle to overcome quickly and get in rhythm, but I thought we settled in well after the first few minutes."

Pacific increased their lead to as much 17 points midway through the second half before UCR's signature defensive play rose to the occasion, clamping down and holding the Tigers to eight points over a 9:10 stretch, which enabled the Highlanders to significantly close the gap and cut into Pacific's lead. That defensive lockdown changed the tempo of the game. It was also sparked on the offensive side by a 5-0 run, capped by Arinze Chidom's long-distance three-pointer from the top of the circle, cutting the Tigers lead to just 10 points, 53-43, with 7:24 remaining in regulation. 

The Highlanders kept climbing back in an effort to erase the deficit in which they found themselves. With 2:32 to go, UCR cut that deficit to five, 58-53, using full court pressure and an up-tempo pace. UOP scored with 2:10 remaining to make it 60-53. But UCR would not go away and that fight enabled UCR to cut the lead to back down to five, 60-55 with just over a minute remaining. 

UCR was unable to convert on offensive and fouls sent Pacific to the line late in the contest, pushing the Tigers lead to 63-55, before Zyon Pullin found Chidom in transition who hit a step-back two, knocking the Tigers' lead down to six, 63-57 with just 13.9 seconds remaining. Pacific sunk two free throws on the ensuing possession, making it a 65-57 score, before freshman Wil Tattersall hit a three-pointer for UCR with 6.6 seconds left on the clock, keeping the Highlanders within striking distance, 65-60. 

However, Pacific would hold on to eek out a 66-60 win, thwarting UCR's late second half surge and moving to 1-0 on the season. 

Czepil added, "We didn't shoot great to start the second half, but as a coaching staff, we told our student-athletes that their shots will fall. They had to keep shooting but also give us a chance to win by playing great defense. They did that and they played well situationally down the stretch – make a shot, get a stop, get a chance to play more possessions – and we found ourselves right there at the end. We have a lot to build on and we will continue to challenge ourselves every step of the way to be better." 

Speaking from the hospital in Riverside, California (where the Magpayo's first child arrived just hours earlier on Wednesday), Coach Magpayo stated, "These are the kinds of defensive runs we are accustomed to having. We gave up too many offensive rebounds to Pacific early on and had to overcome that obstacle. Once we settled in and played the way we are capable of playing defensively, things started to shift. Although today did not yield the result we wanted, we have to keep this in perspective and recognize what it took just to get to tip-off today in the midst of a global pandemic. From a pure basketball perspective, we saw some really good things in the second part of the second half from our team and we have a lot of great pieces to build on this year. I'm proud of our coaching staff and our players and excited for our next game."

Freshman Wil Tattersall led UCR in scoring with 17 points in 29 minutes of action in his debut in a Highlander uniform. Arinze Chidom and Jock Perry also scored in double digits, finishing with 11 and 10, respectively. 

The Highlanders are scheduled to be back in action on Monday, November 30, when they travel to Fresno to take on the Fresno State Bulldogs, before returning back to the SRC Arena to take on Bethesda University on Wednesday, December 2.