RIVERSIDE, Calif. - UC Riverside completed a season sweep of Long Beach State for the first time since the 2008-09 season and fourth in the program's Big West history, as the Highlanders survived a scare from the Beach before registering the 88-76 win on Wednesday night at the SRC Arena.
With the victory, UC Riverside has now reached 10 Big West victories for the first time in program history ahead of Saturday's marquee rematch with UC Santa Barbara. UCR is now back in its groove, having now won two of its last three after a slight bump in the road.
Ball distribution was key for the Highlanders, who notched 20 assists for the third time this season while improving to 3-0 when doing so. Defensively, UCR tied a season high with 11 steals.
UCR used quick offensive starts in the first and second half to secure the victory, but not before establishing themselves on offense by making four of five ahead of the night's initial media break. The Highlanders started the second half just as they did the first, coming out on a 10-2 run while shooting 87 percent from the floor out of the intermission.
Flynn Cameron caught fire from both inside and outside the perimeter, hitting four of five field goals and three of four triples to help UCR re-establish a sizable lead after Long Beach countered with a string of offense. Cameron notched his third 20-point game of the season on Wednesday, going for 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting while sinking seven triples for the second time this season and third in his UCR career.
Zyon Pullin added to his list of benchmarks at UC Riverside, dishing out five assists to tie Reggie Howard for second on UCR's all-time list. Pullin went for 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting while adding four rebounds and a steal.
Just when UC Riverside thought the game was locked up, Long Beach State erupted with a 17-4 run to cut the deficit to single digits and make UCR dig deep for another Big West victory. Despite Long Beach locking in from inside the perimeter, the Highlanders' three-point defense kept the Beach in check as time closed in on a possible but far-reaching season split.
UC Riverside will look to keep rolling on Saturday, February 18 when the Highlanders host UC Santa Barbara at the SRC Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on ESPN+ and tickets are available now at highlanderstickets.universitytickets.com.
