RIVERSIDE, Calif. – UC Riverside grinded out a 68-62 win over North Dakota on Sunday at the SRC Arena. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• UCR held North Dakota to 0 of 4 from the field to start Sunday's contest, not allowing the Fighting Hawks their first field goal until the 16:32 mark.  
• Vladimer Salaridze played offensive catalyst first for the Highlanders, helping UC Riverside go on an 11-2 run. The Georgian dished to Barrington Hargress for UCR's first triple at 14:56 before receiving an outlet pass for the easy bucket and later putting back his own rebound.  
• Nate Pickens drew a foul on a contested jumper just before the final media break of the first half and completed the three-point play to give UCR the 28-24 lead. 
• Kyle Owens opened the second half with back-to-back threes, continuing his long-rage success from Thursday at UCLA. UCR raced out to a 12-3 run to start the second half thanks to Owens' range, holding North Dakota to 1 of 3 from the field at the first media break while shooting 83%. 
• North Dakota climbed back in and fending off the visitors soon turned into a battle down the stretch of what morphed into a single possession game for the final 8:45. A pair of clutch shots in the final two minutes from Kyle Owens and Barrington Hargress helped the cause, as did a 6-0 second-half edge in offensive rebounds.  

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS 

• UCR's 12-3 run to start of the second half was the separation the Highlanders needed after a closely contested first half of action. 
• UC Riverside went 7 of 11 from the free throw line in the second half, making four of its final five on the night to improve to 4-0 when leading with five minutes remaining. 
• Isaiah Moses was one of four Highlanders in double figures scoring on the night, pacing the squad with 17 points. Moses added eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals to his stat line.  
• UCR cleaned up on the offensive boards with a 16-1 edge.  
• Nate Pickens logged his second straight game in double figures scoring following a career-high 14 points on Thursday at UCLA. 

UP NEXT 

• UC Riverside is headed for its final Power 5 contest of the season on Wednesday, December 6 at Washington State. Tipoff from Pullman is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network.