RIVERSIDE, Calif. – UC Riverside entertained a Big West top-three showdown on Thursday night at the SRC Arena, seeing a second-half comeback fall just short in a 68-62 setback to Long Beach State. 

The Highlanders had no early answer for Long Beach State's hot start, but found their rhythm halfway through the first half after two Callum McRae hook shots to cut the lead to six. Flynn Cameron started the game 5 of 7 from the free throw line to keep the Beach on its heels. 

UCR finished the half going 4 of 5 from the floor to cut the deficit to 38-31 at the break after Dominick Pickett hit one of his two triples in the final minute and Zyon Pullin's pullup jumper went down on the final possession of the half. 

Pickett appeared in his 121st career game for UC Riverside on Thursday night, passing Alex Larsson for second on UCR's all-time list. 

After missing a layup, Pullin came down the floor on the next UCR possession and redeemed himself with a successful three-point play to pull the deficit back to single digits. 

Pullin sank a three before Cameron followed up with a jumper to breathe life into UCR with a 6-0 run. Cameron converted the four-point play after sinking his first three of the night with a hand in his face, as UCR brought the game to a four-point margin. The Highlanders sank three triples in a span of four minutes to creep up on the Beach. 

UC Riverside gradually shrank the deficit with plenty of basketball to play, cutting the margin to two after Pullin's two free throws with under a minute remaining. 

Pullin finished with a season-high 23 points, including 15 in the second half, while Callum McRae notched his fourth double double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

UC Riverside is back in action on Saturday, January 29 with a 5:00 p.m. tip against another Big West heavyweight in Cal State Fullerton. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with live stats available on GoHighlanders.com.