SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - UC Riverside delivered a fitting end to the regular season on Saturday night at the UCSB Events Center with a dominant 81-64 win over UC Santa Barbara.  

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• UCR immediately took the buzz out of the building, shooting 68% through the first 15 minutes of the first half. Defensively, the Highlanders held UC Santa Barbara to 1 of 8 shooting out of the gate.  
• Nate Pickens drilled a three at 4:57 of the first half to give UC Riverside a 40-21 lead over the Gauchos. Pickens recorded his seventh double-digit scoring game in his last nine with 16 points on the night.  
• Smith and Pickens combined for 27 points in the first half on 9-of-12 shooting.  
• Niyi Olabode made it a 22-point lead for UC Riverside midway through the second half on a three following a Gaucho turnover.  
• Barrington Hargress was one assist shy of tying a career high, dishing out seven while scoring 11 points. 

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS 

• Kaleb Smith logged a career-high 28 points, scoring 15 of those in the first half on 5-of-6 shooting.  
• UC Riverside clamped down on capitalizing off chances, burying the Gauchos on points off turnovers (27-8) and second-chance points (21-4).  
• UCR has now won five of the last seven overall against UC Santa Barbara. Five of the Highlanders' 15 overall wins against the Gauchos have come since 2020-21.  
• Saturday was the largest margin of victory of UC Santa Barbara in program history. 

UP NEXT 

• UCR now turns its attention to next week's Big West Championship at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada.