HENDERSON, Nev. - UC Riverside overcame a 19-point deficit in Wednesday night's first round matchup at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson to down Cal State Bakersfield, 83-78, and advance in the 2024 Big West Championship.  

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Barrington Hargress led the Highlanders with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting while UCR spread the scoring evenly with four in double figures.  
• UCR held a 20-12 edge in points off turnovers in Wednesday's first round. 
• UC Riverside opened the second half going 5 for 6 from the field with threes from Vladimer Salaridze, Isaiah Moses and Kaleb Smith.  
• Hargress brought the Highlanders within one with a jumper at 13:47 of the second half to make it a 52-51 ballgame after coming up with the steal.  
• Ben Griscti made the front end of two free throws to tie the game at 52, and Niyi Olabode grabbed the offensive board for Hargress, who knocked down another jumper for UCR's first lead since 9-7. 
• The Highlanders went on a 10-0 run amid all this to shift momentum for the remainder of the night.  

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS 

• UCR has now erased a double-digit deficit in two of its last three games.  
• With the win, the Highlanders have also now kicked off the Big West Championship with a win as the higher seed in three of the last four years.  
• UC Riverside shot 52% from the field and 50% from three in the second half. UCR's 47.8% from three was its fourth highest in a game this season.  
• UCR has put up 80 points in four of its last five games. 

COACHES' CORNER 

• "We took a lot of pride in being one of the better teams in the Big West down the stretch," head coach Mike Magpayo said. "I'm really proud of the guys for responding and showing the resilience that we're now becoming accustomed to seeing from UC Riverside men's basketball." 

UP NEXT 

• UC Riverside advances to the quarterfinal of the Big West Championship to face No. 4 Long Beach State on Thursday, March 14 at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN+.