OMAHA, Neb. - UC Riverside hung around in the opening 20 minutes, but was unable to pull through in an 80-51 setback to nationally-ranked Creighton on Thursday night at the CHI Health Center Omaha in Omaha. 

UCR rode a stretch of back-to-back-to-back field goals leading to just a six-point deficit at the under-12 media timeout. The Highlanders stayed hot out of the timeout, hitting seven of 11 to stay within a 10-point margin after starting game 8 of 14 from the floor. 

Creighton emerged from a slump as halftime approached to break the game open with a double-digit lead before finishing off for the win. 

Wil Tatterall led the Highlanders with 11 points on the night on 5-of-12 shooting with a triple, while Jamal Hartwell II made an impression out of the gate with a team-high seven of his nine points heading into the halftime intermission, finishing with nine points on an efficient 4-of-6 shooting in addition to a triple. 

The George Mason transfer added two rebounds and a block, while Lachlan Olbrich collected six points, six rebounds and an assist. 

UC Riverside returns home on Saturday, November 19 to host Occidental for Homecoming in a 4:00 p.m. tipoff on ESPN+ at the SRC Arena.