BOULDER, Colo. – UC Riverside opened the book on its 2022-23 campaign on Monday night in the Rocky Mountains, falling 82-66 to Colorado at the CU Events Center. 

UCR started slow, but went on a mini 6-0 run with back-to-back layups from Wil Tattersall and Kyle Owens followed by a putback jumper from Zyon Pullin. The Highlanders traded baskets with Colorado after Jhaylon Martinez spun in the lane and converted the fadeaway jumper. UC Riverside used its perimeter defense to keep within striking distance early, holding the Buffaloes to 0 of 3 from downtown to start. 

Martinez completed the and-1 with a little over a minute to go in the first half to stop the bleeding, taking the assist inside from Flynn Cameron. UCR scored on three of its final four possessions of the first half after a prolonged cold offensive stretch.

UC Riverside brought the deficit to within 15 points in the second half after making six consecutive field goals with six of those points from Pullin. The preseason All-Big West selection led UCR with 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting, while Lachlan Olbrich pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds while earning the start in his Highlander debut. 

Pullin scored 12 of his 17 points in a more offensively successful second half for UCR, who shot 45 percent compared to 35 in the first 20 minutes. 

UCR disallowed a field goal to Colorado for a good six and a half minutes down the stretch while bringing the deficit nearly down to single digits under the five-minute mark of the second half. A triple from Flynn Cameron at the 4:19 mark of the second half gave him 11 points for the night, finishing four rebounds shy of a double double. 

The Highlanders' season-opening road trip continues on Thursday, November 10 with a 7:00 p.m. tipoff at Loyola Marymount on the WCC Network.