Arinze at NAU -2
Maria Saldivar, NAU Athletics
74
Winner UC Riverside UCR 3-1,0-0 Big West
50
Northern Ariz. NAU 0-2,0-0 Big Sky
Winner
UC Riverside UCR
3-1,0-0 Big West
74
Final
50
Northern Ariz. NAU
0-2,0-0 Big Sky
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UC Riverside UCR 43 31 74
Northern Ariz. NAU 16 34 50

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Total Team Effort Earns UCR Third-Straight Win, 74-50 Over NAU

Presented by Altura Credit Union


Altura Credit Union
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.– The UC Riverside Men's Basketball team earned its third straight win of the season, 74-50, on the road over Northern Arizona. The Highlanders hit double-digit threes (13) for the second game in a row. 

UC Riverside jumped out to a 10-0 advantage on the way to the first media break, and when play resumed, they continued to show dominance, this time in the form of a 14-3 spurt to make it 24-3. Head Coach Mike Magpayo on the strong start, "Our guys came in with a hunger today that was apparent from the tip. We are just so grateful for every day and game together that when we have an opportunity to play, we just come out with a massive amount of excitement." 

UCR's suffocating defense and three-point shooting proved to be too much for the Lumberjacks, as the Highlanders took a 43-16 advantage into the locker room at the half, after connecting on eight of 14 attempts from distance and holding the home side to 4-23 (17%) shooting from the field. Arinze Chidom (4-4 fg, 2-2 3pts, 2-2 ft) and Dominick Pickett (3-3 fg, 2-2 3pt) were perfect in the first 20 minutes. 

The second half began in the same fashion as the game did, with the Highlanders making a run. This time it was a 5-0 min-run that featured a Zyon Pullin jumper and Pickett's third triple of the night to make it a 32-point margin, 48-16. 

NAU responded with buckets of their own, but were in no position to trade buckets with UCR, and that's exactly what they did, before cutting the deficit to 27 with 10:13 to play. The Highlanders restored order, outscoring the Lumberjacks, 7-2, over the next four minutes of play, punctuated by Chidom's dunk off a feed from Flynn Cameron to make it 67-34, leaving only the final tally in doubt. The benches were emptied, and when the clock hit zeros, the Highlanders had a 74-50 victory to bring back to the Inland Empire.

"Defense led the way as always. Flynn and Zyon held their all league player Cameron Shelton to 2-9 shooting. They were up to the challenge today." Magpayo said of the defensive effort. "Proud of the guys. These two-straight wire-to-wire road wins are all because of their preparation and approach."

Thursday night's win saw six Highlanders score nine or more points and six players grab four or more rebounds. They also held NAU to 28 percent shooting for the game, 20 percent (2-10) from distance. UCR shot 53 percent from the field and connected on 13 of 28 their three-point attempts (46%). 

"It was great to get George Willborn back in the fold with his physical athletic presence, 9 pts, 4 rebounds and a steal." said Magpayo. "Jock Perry didn't have a huge scoring day, but we were +31 when he was in the game. We also got nice contributions from freshmen, "Big" Ollie Hayes-Brown and Wil Tattersall (9pts, 3 rebs)." he went on to say.
 
The Highlanders were led in scoring by Chidom 17pts and Pickett's 11, while newcomer Hayes-Brown pulled down a game-high seven rebounds to help the blue and gold control the glass 39-27. "The X Factor for us is always going to be rebounding. If we win that battle we have a great chance to win a road game." said Magpayo.

Chidom on the offensive flow: "Moving the ball from side to side was working for us and players were ready to shoot." Pickett on the ball movement: "The ability to not only gain an advantage but then also keep it too. We had their defense chasing the whole night." 

Pickett on the win: "It's definitely a confidence booster for everyone on the team including our bench players because we all put in a lot of work. To see the results paying off really helps our team and the standard we set."

The Highlanders host Bethesda on Tuesday, December 15th in their home opener in a tip-off slated for 4pm at the SRC Arena. 


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