UC Riverside
Hope International (CA)
Highlanders Cruise Over Hope International, 75-55
11/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Junior guard Larry Cunningham had his second consecutive double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds as the UC Riverside Highlanders defeated the visiting Hope International University Royals, 75-55 in a non-conference game in front of 327 fans at the Student Recreation Center in Riverside Saturday.
The Highlanders improved to 3-2. The Royals, an NAIA squad, treated the game as an exhibition and remain 1-4. The Highlanders played without starting forwards Henrik Thomsen (sprained ankle) and B.J. Visman (wrist) and reserve guard Charles Jim-George (sprained ankle).
Cunningham led all scorers with 14 points and had a game-high 12 rebounds. Four other Highlanders also scored in double figures, with senior guard Justin Bell scoring 14, senior guard Dedrick Bates scoring 13, sophomore guard Chris Johnson scoring 13 and freshman center Sean Anderson tallying a career-high 10 points in 14 minutes off of the bench. UCR shot 41.2% (28-of-68) from the field and won the battle of the boards, 47-33.
Hope International's Bryan Fincham led the Royals with 13 points off of the bench and center Marko Torovic had 11 points, all in the second half after getting into early foul trouble in the first. The Royals shot 35.2% (19-of-54) from the field and committed 21 turnovers.
The Highlanders took control of the game early, using an 18-2 run to build a 23-7 lead with 11 minutes remaining. The Royals' leading scorer, Torovic, quickly found himself with three fouls and on the bench after just eight minutes of play. His absence forced the Royals to attack from the outside and they jacked up 16 treys in the half, draining just two. Overall the Royals were just 6-of-30 from the field (20%) in the half.
Meanwhile, the Highlanders played solid defense and forced 14 turnovers, tallying 16 points off of takeaways and led 47-17 entering halftime. Johnson led the team in scoring in scoring in the half with 13 points, draining three treys.
Hope International outscored the Highlanders 38-28 in the second half behind a 54.2% (13-of-24) shooting performance. UCR missed several scoring opportunities in the half, shooting just 12-of-33 (36.4%) from the field in the half.
