SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - UC Riverside hit the road for the first time in Big West play on Thursday night, picking up the first conference win of the year in a 57-46 victory over Cal Poly at the Mott Athletics Center.
The Highlanders have now won five straight over Cal Poly but win number five didn't come without a little adversity.
"We were on the road in the gym with their fans, they were going to make a run, but where we grew was how we responded to it." head coach Mike Magpayo said. "We stayed focused and kept our energy up for all 40 minutes."
Zyon Pullin added a team-high 13 points on 5 of 15 shooting to go along with four assists.
UC Riverside went on a 11-0 run to create separation following a slow start, energized by the play of Daniel Mading on both ends of the floor. Mading hit a three from the wing on the inbound and took a charge on the ensuing Cal Poly possession before Pullin connected on an open three from the top of the key to extend the lead to 20-12.
A three from Dominick Pickett from the exact same spot as Mading's made it four of seven from downtown for the Highlanders through 15 minutes on Thursday evening before Flynn Cameron sank UCR's fifth three of the half with 16 seconds on the game clock. UCR outscored Cal Poly 12-4 to end the half en route to a 32-22 halftime lead while holding the Mustangs scoreless for the final two and a half minutes.
The Highlanders suffered a brief cold stretch out of halftime that allowed the Mustangs to take the lead, but Mading broke UCR's scoreless streak with a three at the 12:07 mark. Out of the under-12 media break, Pickett took the inbounds pass on the wing and immediately drained his second three of the night. The make put Pickett in double figures for the third time in his last four games.
Cameron and Pickett both finished the night with double-figure scoring, marking the 12th game this season with at least two Highlanders in double figures. The duo also combined for 10 of their total 15 rebounds in the second half - Cameron tied a season high with eight boards on the night while Pickett grabbed seven.
UC Riverside lived up to the moment when gut check time arrived. The Highlanders rode a 6-0 run late and held the Mustangs scoreless in a stretch of just over three minutes, effectively controlling the tempo in the late stages of the game with a nine-point lead and under three minutes on the clock.
Defensively, UCR's perimeter defense held Cal Poly to 3 of 16 from downtown for a 19 percent clip, the fifth time this season a Highlander opponent has been held to under 20 percent from three.
The longest road trip of the season continues on Saturday when the Highlanders travel to CSU Bakersfield for a 1:00 p.m. tip with the Roadrunners. The contest will stream live on Spectrum SportsNet with audio on GoHighlanders.com and live stats on gorunners.com.
