Men’s Basketball Falls at Long Beach State

Saturday, January 6

Long Beach, Calif.

4:00 p.m.

University of California, Riverside

6-10,1-3Big West

Long Beach State

11-5,3-1Big West

Team	1	2	F
UC Riverside	34	41	75
Long Beach St.	35	48	83

Photo by: Nyah Metze

1/6/2024 6:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball

LONG BEACH, Calif. - UC Riverside dropped an 83-75 decision at Long Beach State on Saturday at the Walter Pyramid.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Isaiah Moses took control early in his first trip to Long Beach State with seven of UCR's first 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting and his 20th consecutive made free throw. UC Riverside held the Beach to just 30% shooting at the second media break.
The Highlanders had to wait until Barrington Hargress connected with under four minutes to go until halftime for a three to go down, but UCR continued to keep the Beach on its heels while continuing to put up shots.
UC Riverside held a 23-16 rebounding advantage at halftime and continued its dominance on the offensive glass with a 12-3 edge at the intermission.
Kyle Owens and Kaleb Smith traded threes in a matter of minutes to keep the Highlanders sticking around with just under nine minutes remaining. Smith knocked down nine straight points for UC Riverside - all from beyond the arc - to put some life into UCR down the stretch.
UCR held the Beach to 3 of 14 shooting for the remaining 8:19, using Smith's trio of threes to creep back into the contest.

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

Smith put up a career-high and game-high 19 points on Saturday on 6-of-10 shooting while also picking up seven rebounds. The Rancho Cucamonga native was one of four Highlanders in double figures scoring, joining Owens (17), Isaiah Moses (12) and Barrington Hargress (14).
UCR outrebounded its opponent on the offensive glass for the second straight game, winning a 20-14 edge over the Beach.
UC Riverside also doubled up Long Beach State on bench points, 30-15. Smith's 19 led UCR off the bench.
The Highlanders grabbed north of 40 rebounds for the fifth time this year behind a career-high eight from Hargress.

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