RIVERSIDE, Calif. - UC Riverside erased a 13-point first half deficit on Thursday night at the SRC Arena to deliver an 84-74 Senior Night victory over Cal State Fullerton. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Thursday's home finale played out in the early going with a quick, fast-paced tempo. Vladimer Salaridze led the squad early with five points, finishing his night with 10 and recording his first double-digit scoring performance since scoring 11 vs. CSUN on January 20. 
• Kaleb Smith connected on his third three of the night to cut the lead to nine, helping UCR finish the half making three of its final four threes. 
• Smith led UCR with nine points at halftime on 3-of-6 shooting – all threes.  
• Midway through the second half was when UC Riverside really turned on the jets, going on an 18-9 run capped by an inside make from Smith that gave the Highlanders their first lead since 3-0. 
• It was all Highlanders from there, as UC Riverside gained full momentum quickly after with a three from Isaiah Moses and a Barrington Hargress jumper that put UCR out in front, 73-66.  
• UCR shot 46.9% in the second half with 16 points from Nate Pickens and 10 from Hargress.  

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS 

• UC Riverside has now won four of the last six against Cal State Fullerton.  
• UCR's comeback came predominantly from second chance points, grabbing an 11-0 advantage over Fullerton after the break. 
• Nate Pickens scored a career-high 20 points on 5-of-10 shooting. 

UP NEXT 

• UCR will end the the regular season on Saturday, March 9 with a 7:00 p.m. tipoff at UC Santa Barbara on ESPN+.