Thursday, January 15
Irvine, CA
UC Riverside
65
at
66
UC Irvine
Photo by: Phil Ellsworth
Highlanders Lose Heartbreaker to Anteaters, 66-65
1/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The UC Riverside Highlanders dropped a heartbreaking 66-65 decision to the host UC Irvine Anteaters in a Big West match-up at the Bren Center in Irvine Thursday.
UCR fell to 5-7, 2-2 on the season and UCI 8-6, 3-2. Nate Carter led UCR with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Stanislav Zuzak had a game-high 21 points for UCI. UCR is now 0-6 on the road this season.
Mike Efevberha's leaning three pointer with 2.8 seconds left gave the Anteaters the lead. UC Riverside's Kevin Butler's runner at the buzzer missed, sending the Irvine crowd into a frenzy.
The loss overshadowed and outstanding comeback in which UCR overcame a 10-point halftime deficit.
The Highlanders had taken a 64-62 lead when Kevin Butler stole the ball in the backcourt from Aras Baskuskas and layed it in for a 64-62 lead. Parada hit 1-of-2 free throws on his next possession, giving the Highlanders a 64-63 advantage. The Highlanders inbounded the ball and Butler was fouled with 12.1 left, but only hit 1-of-2 shots, giving UCR a 65-63 lead and setting the stage for Efevberha's heroics.
The Highlanders took the lead for the first time at 48-47 with 10:01 remaining on a pair of free throws by Butler. The teams traded leads several times as the half concluded.
The Highlanders opened the second half on a 9-2 run. Porter opened the half with a pair of free throws and a trey, then Carter ignighted the Highlanders by blowing past Zuzak for a lefthanded dunk to make the score 35-30. Moments later Morton putback a Highlander miss to make the lead 35-32.
UCI built up an 11-point margin at 24-13 with 9:42 remaining as the Anteaters hit each of their first three trey attempts, while the Highlanders went 1-for-9, but the Highlanders rallied to cut the margin to 27-21 at 6:08 on a layup by Mark Peters. However the Highlanders went ice cold, scoring just one basket in the final six minutes. UCI wasn't much better, scoring just four points in the final four minutes, but it was enough to give them a 33-23 advantage at the intermission.
In the half the Highlanders were just 1-of-13 (7.7%) from beyond the arc and 10-of-31 (32.3%) overall. UCI was 11-of-23 overall and 3-of-7 from the field, missing four straight after getting off to a 3-for-3 start.
Morton's block of Parada at the 17 minute mark was his 132nd of his career, breaking the school record he co-held with Tim Bell.
The Highlanders return to action on Saturday, January 17th at Long Beach State.
UCR fell to 5-7, 2-2 on the season and UCI 8-6, 3-2. Nate Carter led UCR with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Stanislav Zuzak had a game-high 21 points for UCI. UCR is now 0-6 on the road this season.
Mike Efevberha's leaning three pointer with 2.8 seconds left gave the Anteaters the lead. UC Riverside's Kevin Butler's runner at the buzzer missed, sending the Irvine crowd into a frenzy.
The loss overshadowed and outstanding comeback in which UCR overcame a 10-point halftime deficit.
The Highlanders had taken a 64-62 lead when Kevin Butler stole the ball in the backcourt from Aras Baskuskas and layed it in for a 64-62 lead. Parada hit 1-of-2 free throws on his next possession, giving the Highlanders a 64-63 advantage. The Highlanders inbounded the ball and Butler was fouled with 12.1 left, but only hit 1-of-2 shots, giving UCR a 65-63 lead and setting the stage for Efevberha's heroics.
The Highlanders took the lead for the first time at 48-47 with 10:01 remaining on a pair of free throws by Butler. The teams traded leads several times as the half concluded.
The Highlanders opened the second half on a 9-2 run. Porter opened the half with a pair of free throws and a trey, then Carter ignighted the Highlanders by blowing past Zuzak for a lefthanded dunk to make the score 35-30. Moments later Morton putback a Highlander miss to make the lead 35-32.
UCI built up an 11-point margin at 24-13 with 9:42 remaining as the Anteaters hit each of their first three trey attempts, while the Highlanders went 1-for-9, but the Highlanders rallied to cut the margin to 27-21 at 6:08 on a layup by Mark Peters. However the Highlanders went ice cold, scoring just one basket in the final six minutes. UCI wasn't much better, scoring just four points in the final four minutes, but it was enough to give them a 33-23 advantage at the intermission.
In the half the Highlanders were just 1-of-13 (7.7%) from beyond the arc and 10-of-31 (32.3%) overall. UCI was 11-of-23 overall and 3-of-7 from the field, missing four straight after getting off to a 3-for-3 start.
Morton's block of Parada at the 17 minute mark was his 132nd of his career, breaking the school record he co-held with Tim Bell.
The Highlanders return to action on Saturday, January 17th at Long Beach State.
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