MBB team
55
St. Francis (IL) SF 0-2
78
Winner UC Riverside UCR 7-4,2-0 Big West
St. Francis (IL) SF
0-2
55
Final
78
UC Riverside UCR
7-4,2-0 Big West
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
St. Francis (IL) SF 18 37 55
UC Riverside UCR 46 32 78

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Hot Start Gives UCR Comfortable Win over St. Francis

Armotrading scores 16, Highlanders shoot 50% in win

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - UC Riverside won its fifth game in its last six on Sunday afternoon at the SRC Arena with a 78-55 win over St. Francis.  

HOW IT HAPPENED 

  • UCR hit four of its first five shots out of the gate, also going on a 7-0 run early. 10 of the Highlanders' first 13 points came from inside.  
  • UC Riverside opened a 23-6 lead at the game's second media break following Parker Strauss' corner three.  
  • The Highlanders continued to clamp down on defense with a monstrous 38-9 run in just under 15 minutes. Barrington Hargress then gave UCR its second 30-point advantage of the season with a stepback jumper down low.  
  • UC Riverside shot 57.1% in the first half while holding the Fighting Saints to one of five from three to close the period. Hargress and Joel Armotrading each made their final four shots to close the half while Rikus Schulte made his final three.  
  • UCR's bigs got the offense going out of halftime. Armotrading followed up on a pair of offensive rebounds to finish the job on the glass while Kaleb Smith hit a jumper and followed an offensive board of his own.  
  • Nate Pickens collected his second steal of the afternoon, setting up an eventual layup by Jack Whitbourn that gave UC Riverside its biggest lead of the game at 36.  

NOTABLES 

  • UCR blanked St. Francis in the first half in bench points (18-0) and points off turnovers (12-0). The Highlanders shot 50% in a non-conference game for the second straight year.  
  • UC Riverside now has its first three-game win streak in non-conference play since 2022-23 after Sunday's victory.  
  • Four of Armotrading's five offensive rebounds came in the second half. The Cal Poly transfer put up a season-high 16 points, while Pickens picked up a season-high five assists.  

UP NEXT 

  • UC Riverside plays its final game before the holiday break on Wednesday, December 18 when the Highlanders host Montana State at the SRC Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 pm and the game will be streamed exclusively on ESPN+. Tickets are available now at gohighlanders.com/tickets