RIVERSIDE, Calif. – UC Riverside fell 70-69 in another thrilling edition of the Crosstown Showdown on Saturday night at the SRC Arena.  

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Isaiah Moses and Vladimer Salaridze traded back-to-back threes as UCR overcame a slow start. Salaridze then put home back-to-back close-range shots to put the Highlanders within a field goal at the game's second media timeout.  
• Kaleb Smith answered a CBU bucket with a hard-fought make of his own on the other end, muscling through the defense down low for two with just over two minutes to go until halftime.  
• Salaridze nearly gave the Highlanders a bucket off a turnover with under a minute to go but sank both free throws to pull UCR to within single digits.  
• Jhaylon Martinez muscled his way inside and completed the three-point play after the first media break of the second half, as the Highlanders emerged from halftime shooting 5 of 11.  
• Niyi Olabode replicated Martinez's efforts and completed a hard-fought three-point play before securing the defensive rebound. Wil Tattersall dropped in a hook shot on the other end for his second bucket of the night.  
• Nate Pickens shimmied a defender and gave the Highlanders their first tie with a driving layup at 6:35 of the second half for UCR's seventh field goal in their last eight attempts. The Highlanders continued to chip away down the stretch offensively.  

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS 

• Barrington Hargress scored 15 of his game-high and career-high 19 points in the second half, going 7 for 12 after halftime with three rebounds.  
• UCR held a 30-8 advantage in points in the paint after halftime and Moses dished out four of the Highlanders' five second-half assists.  
• UC Riverside took tremendous care of the ball on Saturday with a season-low five turnovers.  

UP NEXT 

• UC Riverside is back in action on Thursday, December 21 for a 5:00 p.m. tipoff against Idaho at the SRC Arena on ESPN+.