RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Four Highlanders scored in double figures on Wednesday night at the SRC Arena to lead UC Riverside to an 83-80 comeback victory over Montana State. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Joel Armotrading made his first three attempts of the night as UCR held an early 12-11 lead. 
• UC Riverside held the Bobcats cold from the three-point line up to the second media break and overall, limiting Montana State to 2 of 7 from distance early. 
• Kaleb Smith drained a three and hit two of three free throws shortly after to pull UCR to within three. Smith later drew the Highlanders to within a field goal with a jumper off the glass.  
• Smith and Barrington Hargress combined to score 11 of UCR's final 13 points of the first half.  
• UC Riverside started the second half going 4 of 7 from the floor. Armotrading connected with Nate Pickens on an easy layup before Hargress cut the deficit to five with a driving layup. 
• UCR's offense turned on the gas midway through the second half. Parker Strauss sank a pair of consecutive triples to bring the squad to within two at the under-12 media break, and Isaiah Moses tied the game with a floater off the glass at 11:08.  
• UC Riverside kept applying pressure with defensive rebounds from Armotrading and Niyi Olabode. The Highlanders finally took their first lead since 14-11 with a jumper from Armotrading.  
• UCR's defense answered the bell with pristine timing, holding Montana State without a basket for nearly three minutes down the stretch. Armotrading pulled down a key offensive rebound in the final seconds before Moses iced the win from the free throw line. 

• "I think this was a really gritty second-half performance by the guys to shut down a hot team. I thought Joel did a heck of a job protecting the rim in the second half, and our perimeter players, led by Isaiah Moses and Nate Pickens—our newly minted captains—and Niyi Olabode, stepped up."

  "Parker Strauss gave us great energy off the bench. I'm really proud of Kaleb Smith and Barrington Hargress for leading us offensively by playing with force and sticking to the game plan of attacking the paint. This was a great home win against an NCAA Tournament team and the oldest team in NCAA Division I."

NOTABLES 

• UC Riverside shot a season-high 53.6% from the field and 90% from the free throw line. 
• Hargress started the second half going a perfect 5 for 5 from the field to secure his sixth 20-point game of the season. The Preseason All-Big West selection finished with 22 points and 10 assists for UCR's first double double of the season.  
• Armotrading set his second straight season high in blocks after his four rejections against the Bobcats on Wednesday. The Englishman has recorded seven of the Highlanders' 10 blocks in the last two games.  

UP NEXT 

• UC Riverside is back in action on Saturday, December 21 with a 12:00 p.m. matchup at UNLV. The Highlanders return to the SRC Arena to close out 2024 on Sunday, December 29 for a 2:00 p.m. contest with St. Thomas (Minn.) on ESPN+. Tickets are available now at gohighlanders.com/tickets.