UCRMBB Group 2
Carlos Puma
61
Winner UC Riverside UCR 15-14,5-8 Big West
49
Cal Poly CPO 7-20,4-9 Big West
Winner
UC Riverside UCR
15-14,5-8 Big West
61
Final
49
Cal Poly CPO
7-20,4-9 Big West
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UC Riverside UCR 24 37 61
Cal Poly CPO 16 33 49

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Highlanders' Defensive Force Seals, 61-49, Victory At Cal Poly

Presented by Altura Credit Union

Altura Credit Union
San Luis Obispo, Calif.—Tonight, both UC Riverside (15-14, 5-8) and Cal Poly (7-19, 4-9) were deadlocked in a tie for eighth place in the Big West Conference, but it was the Highlanders who took one step closer in securing their spot in the Big West Tournament with a convincing victory, 61-49, over the Mustangs in front of a nearly capacity crowd at Mott Gym. UCR entered Saturday's game having dropped five straight matchups by a total of 12 points in those defeats, but still only remained two games back of third place,  behind UCSB, Hawai'i, and CSUN. The Highlanders have a shot at moving up in the standings and dictating their own fate, as they host Santa Barbara on Thursday night on ESPN, before traveling  to Hawaii for a Saturday matchup.

The Highlanders looked great defensively from the start, as they held the Mustangs to just 5 of 20 shooting (25%) in the first half and 1 of 5 from beyond the arc. UCR played with great poise on the offensive side of the basketball shooting 9 of 25 (36%) and 5 of 13 (39%) from the three point line. The Highlanders were led by Arinze Chidom and George Willborn III who each scored 10 points each in the first 20 minutes of play. UCR lead at the break, 24-16.

Coach Patrick said of Saturday's first half defensive showing, "We have hung our hat on defense and rebounding all year and the only thing that has traveled on the road with us has been our defense and rebounding. We changed the lineup a little bit tonight and it was to our advantage to start the game."

The second half mirrored most of the first half with UCR stifling the high octane offense of the Mustangs by holding them to just 33 points, while UCR put up 37 en route to the critical road victory, UCR's fifth of the season under second-year Head Coach David Patrick.

"Holding them to 49 on their home floor and taking care of the ball is huge, they are listening, following the scouting report, they slowed the game down and they are the best group of guys I've ever coached, top to bottom." Coach Patrick said of his young ball club after the victory.

George Willborn III had a big game after coming off a shoulder injury that sidelined him for several games, making his way back into the starting lineup. He had 17 points and four rebounds in 30 minutes of play, but his toughness and leadership was evident in those 30 solid minutes.

Coach Patrick on George Willborn III, "We got him here for his toughness. I met with him earlier this week and said you are healthy and we need your toughness back. His strength and ability to defend really helped us tonight."

The Highlanders held the Mustangs leading scorer,  Junior Ballard (17ppg.), scoreless on 0-7 shooting. As a team, the blue and gold held Cal Poly to 28% on 15 of 52 from the floor for the game. UCR was led tonight by George Willborn III and Arinze Chidom who had 17 and 14 points respectively for the Highlanders. Chidom also added seven rebounds and "Blue Collar" Dominick Pickett pulled down six rebounds in helping the Highlanders secure the Big West victory.

UC Riverside returns to action Thursday night in the SRC Arena at 8 pm vs UCSB. Coach Patrick had this to say on the matchup, "You should be mad if you are any type of competitor for the way we lost that first game at Santa Barbara."

Thursday's  battle is the night cap of an ESPN UCR Basketball double-header with the Women's team tipping at 5 pm.

Be sure to check out the surging Highlanders as they jockey for Big West Tournament positioning. 
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