RIVERSIDE, Calif. – UC Riverside wiped away a slow start on Saturday against CSUN for the 68-45 win at the SRC Arena, putting the Highlanders back in the win column at 10-6 overall and 3-1 in Big West play.

UCR's fifth straight win over the Matadors came after flirting with the lowest single-game opposing field goal percentage as a Division I program and the largest margin of victory over the Matadors in the teams' 88 all-time meetings. 

"We saw great resilience from the guys," Highlanders head coach Mike Magpayo said. "More importantly, we had great poise early when baskets were hard to come by. To continue to guard and hold a team to 15 percent from the field in the first half and 23 percent for the game was an incredible defensive effort. I'm very proud of the amazing defensive persistence today."

CSUN knocked down an early three to go ahead 5-0 in an uncharacteristic start for UC Riverside, but the triple turned into a mistake that inadvertently poked the bear. UCR slowly but surely began to close down the Matadors from the perimeter, not allowing another three for the remainder of the half - even after eight more CSUN attempts at the long ball.

UCR's defense pushed further in towards the paint, as the Highlanders began to bully CSUN down low as well with an 8-2 advantage on points in the paint through the first 20 minutes. 

On the other end of the floor, the Highlanders went on a 9-0 run over five and a half minutes that started with a Lachlan Olbrich three to awaken the offense, and UC Riverside ultimately went into halftime with a 19-4 run over the last 10 minutes for a 22-15 halftime lead. UCR was just as hot out of halftime with a 2-of-3 clip from the floor to start while holding CSUN without a second-half bucket until the 14:36 mark, but that was just the beginning for a rejuvenated offense. 

Flynn Cameron turned up the heat with 14 of his 18 points out of the break in the win over the Matadors, also adding seven rebounds and four assists running the point. Cameron's leadership down the stretch was key, as the Highlanders completely torched the second-half stat sheet with a 64 percent field goal clip. 

Kyle Owens played in his 100th collegiate game on Saturday and recorded 12 points on 3-of-7 shooting while doing the dirty work on the glass and taking charges, and Vladimer Salaridze tacked on additional tenacity in the form of nine points, five rebounds and a steal. 

UCR will hit the road as the Big West schedule continues, starting with a 7:00 p.m. tip on Wednesday, January 11 at UC San Diego on ESPN+.