RIVERSIDE, Calif. - UC Riverside fell 65-53 to Long Beach State on Saturday afternoon at the SRC Arena.  

HOW IT HAPPENED

• UC Riverside's defense held Long Beach State to just 1 of 8 to begin the afternoon, jumping out to a fast 12-3 lead with threes from Kyle Owens and Isaiah Moses. 
• Luke Turner checked into the afternoon for the first time and sank back to back threes from both sides of the arc, taking the majority of the credit for a 12-0 run that put the Highlanders back in the driver's seat. Turner accounted for two of the Highlanders' seven first half threes and three rebounds.
• UCR out-rebounded the Beach 29-19 in the first half with the help of Kaleb Smith, who continued to bully the glass with a game-high seven rebounds before halftime. 
• Nate Pickens kicked off the second half with a three in the opening two minutes on the assist from Moses. The two swapped roles after Pickens dished to Moses for the trey that put UCR up 42-29. 

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

• UC Riverside grabbed 40 rebounds for the fourth game in their last seven. 
• Smith now has 22 rebounds in his last two games after picking up eight on Saturday, seven of which came in the first half. 
• Barrington Hargress led UCR with seven points in the second half and 16 points on the day. Hargress accounted for half of the Highlanders' field goals in the second half. 
• UCR held the Beach well below its season average in shooting percentage, yielding just a 37.1% clip on Saturday. 

UP NEXT

• UC Riverside heads to Northridge for a quick rematch with the Matadors, tipping off from Premier America Credit Union Arena on Thursday, February 3 at 5:00 p.m. on ESPN+.