BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The Highlanders battled to a narrow 67–66 loss to Cal State Bakersfield, as the Roadrunners edged ahead in the final seconds of a tightly contested Big West matchup

Marqui Worthy Jr. led the Highlanders with 19 points, while Andrew Henderson added 18 and dished out a team-high five assists. BJ Kolly paced UC Riverside on the glass with 11 rebounds to go with nine points, and Osiris Grady and Tyler Jones each scored seven

Kolly also anchored the defensive effort with a game-high four blocks, as UC Riverside held CSU Bakersfield to 37.1% shooting for the game.

UC Riverside took a 35-31 lead into halftime and later built a nine-point cushion in the second half, highlighted by Henderson's perimeter shooting as he finished 6-of-7 from three-point range

Over the final five minutes, the game tightened into a possession-by-possession battle with the score tied at 59–59 after Cal State Bakersfield finished inside at the 5:02 mark. CSUB briefly moved ahead at the free-throw line, but UC Riverside answered immediately when Jailen Daniel-Dalton converted a layup off an assist from Osiris Grady to regain the lead.

The Roadrunners responded with a jumper and free throws to pull back in front when Marqui Worthy Jr. delivered a momentum-shifting three-pointer at the 2:43 mark to tie the game at 64–64, then later attacked the rim for a driving layup with 1:09 left to even the score again at 66–66.

Cal State Bakersfield edged ahead at the free-throw line with 47 seconds remaining, and UC Riverside generated clean looks in the closing seconds, but the final attempts came up short as the Roadrunners held on for the one-point decision.

The Highlanders return to the SRC this Saturday, Jan. 8^th for a tipoff game at 5pm against UC San Diego.