HONOLULU, Hawai'i - UC Riverside fell 63-56 to Hawai'i in another close battle with the Rainbow Warriors on Saturday night at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Kaleb Smith poured in five of UCR's first six points, going 2 for 3 early with a triple. Ben Griscti gave UCR its first lead of the ball game with a three at 12:05 of the first half. 
• UC Riverside went on a string of 7 of 9 makes from the field in a seven-minute span. Barrington Hargress finished off the spurt with a layup to give UCR the 19-18 lead. 
• Smith and Nate Pickens knocked down threes on both ends of the first half's final media timeout, putting the Highlanders on a 6-0 run and Hawai'i on a scoreless run of nearly three minutes. 
• Wil Tattersall sank UCR's fifth three of the half in the closing minute to stop Hawai'i from carrying momentum into the break. UC Riverside ended the half on another 6-0 that finished with a three-point play from Hargress. The Highlanders shot 50% from the field and 63% from deep in the first half.  
• Kyle Owens nailed the hook shot to give UCR its first lead of the second half off a Hawai'i turnover. The Highlanders found another burst of offense to leapfrog UH for a 48-45 lead and simultaneously clamped down on defense, not yielding a field goal across a six-minute span. 
• Tattersall hit a quick three in the final minute of play to end his night with eight points, three rebounds and three assists. 

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

• Smith put up another stellar rebounding effort with eight boards and now has 22 in his last three games. The redshirt freshman earned his second career start on Saturday. 
• Pickens put up his second straight double figures scoring performance with 10 points on 4 of 8 shooting.

UP NEXT

• UC Riverside will stay on the road on Thursday, January 18 with a 7:00 p.m tipoff at Cal State Bakersfield on ESPN+.