RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Marqui Worthy Jr. scored 22 points and UC Riverside mounted a late rally to cut a second-half deficit to nine, with the Highlanders ultimately falling 80–66.

Worthy went 7 of 16 from the field and added two assists. BJ Kolly posted 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds while adding a block. Jailen Daniel-Dalton finished with 10 points with three assists, while also contributing three blocks. Osiris Grady added eight points and four rebounds, and Ben Waller was just shy of double-digits as he scored nine points on the night. 

Behind steady production from Marqui Worthy Jr. and BJ Kolly, UC Riverside trimmed the deficit to five and went into halftime down 38–33. The Anteaters extended the margin early in the second half, pushing the lead to 57–33 with 14:02 remaining.

The Highlanders responded with their best stretch of the night, using energy on the defensive end and timely scoring to chip away. Worthy sparked the rally with a three and Kolly drove in the a basket to take the score to 67–58 with just over seven minutes remaining. The Highlanders continued to battle and cut it to 77–66 on a pair of free throws with 34 seconds left, but UC Irvine closed the game at the line.

UC Riverside finished with 15 offensive rebounds and 12 second-chance points, while shooting 93.8% at the free-throw line, as the Highlanders showed resilience with a late push that brought the game back within striking distance.

The Highlanders are on the road this Saturday, January 24th as they play an early matchup against UC Davis with tipoff set for 2pm.