Thursday, January 9
Fullerton, CA
7:00 PM
UC Riverside
73
at
78
Cal State Fullerton
Photo by: Annishia McKoy
Furious Comeback Comes Up Just Short As Men's Basketball Falls 78-73 At Fullerton
1/9/2014 9:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Riverside—The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team once again found itself having to play from behind, Thursday evening, as they trailed Cal State Fullerton by as many as 15 points in the second half. A furious rally over the final two minutes reduced the Titans' lead to two with 32 seconds remaining, but that was as close as UCR could get as Cal State Fullerton picked up a 78-73 victory in the Big West Conference opener for both clubs (Box Score).
The Highlanders were up early, 11-9, with 5:11 gone in the game, but the Titans went on a 12-0 run over the next six minutes to take a 21-11 lead. Chris Patton's put-back with 9:14 on the clock ended the run, and UC Riverside scored the next six points to cut the Titans' lead to four, 21-17.
Cal State Fullerton clamped down on defense again over the next five minutes holding the Highlanders to two points during that stretch as the Titans increased their lead to 14, 33-19. Following a Taylor Johns lay up, Josh Gentry connected on his second three-pointer of the half to give Fullerton its largest lead of the night at 15.
UC Riverside closed the half on an 8-0 run of its own to trail, 36-29, heading into the locker room.
Michael Williams was a perfect six-for-six from the floor over the first 20 minutes of play for the Titans, and led all scorers with 15 points. Johns countered by making all four of his field goal attempts in the period and led the Highlanders with eight at the break.
Johns lay up on UC Riverside's first possession of the second half cut Fullerton lead to five, 36-31, and the Highlanders appeared to have some momentum on their side. The Titans led by eight with 13:43 to go in the game when UCR hit another cold streak. Cal State Fullerton scored seven straight over the next two-plus minutes to match their largest lead of the night at 15, 56-41.
The Highlanders still had two more runs in them, though, as they scored 12 of the next 14 points to cut the Titans advantage to, 58-53, five with 4:59 remaining. Fullerton pushed its lead back out to 11 over the next three minutes and change, and that's when UC Riverside mounted its final comeback.
A Sam Finley three with 1:27 to go made it an eight-point game, and a Steven Jones free throw with 1:07 on the clock cut the Titans advance to seven. Steve McClellan missed two free throws on Fullerton's next possession, and then the Titans fouled Finley on a three-pointer. The freshman drained all three to make it 68-64 Cal State Fullerton.
Marquis Horne made one of two freebies on the Titans' next trip down the floor, but John countered by making a pair to reduce the lead to three. Horne made one of two shots from the charity stripe with 38 seconds to go, and Nick Gruninger made it a one possession by sinking two free throws of his own.
Cal State Fullerton made six free throws down the stretch, however, to ice the game.
Williams and Johns shared game-high scoring honors with 21 points, and Johns added 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.
The Highlanders return home Saturday to take on UC Irvine at the SRC Arena. Tip is slated for 7 pm PT.
The Highlanders were up early, 11-9, with 5:11 gone in the game, but the Titans went on a 12-0 run over the next six minutes to take a 21-11 lead. Chris Patton's put-back with 9:14 on the clock ended the run, and UC Riverside scored the next six points to cut the Titans' lead to four, 21-17.
Cal State Fullerton clamped down on defense again over the next five minutes holding the Highlanders to two points during that stretch as the Titans increased their lead to 14, 33-19. Following a Taylor Johns lay up, Josh Gentry connected on his second three-pointer of the half to give Fullerton its largest lead of the night at 15.
UC Riverside closed the half on an 8-0 run of its own to trail, 36-29, heading into the locker room.
Michael Williams was a perfect six-for-six from the floor over the first 20 minutes of play for the Titans, and led all scorers with 15 points. Johns countered by making all four of his field goal attempts in the period and led the Highlanders with eight at the break.
Johns lay up on UC Riverside's first possession of the second half cut Fullerton lead to five, 36-31, and the Highlanders appeared to have some momentum on their side. The Titans led by eight with 13:43 to go in the game when UCR hit another cold streak. Cal State Fullerton scored seven straight over the next two-plus minutes to match their largest lead of the night at 15, 56-41.
The Highlanders still had two more runs in them, though, as they scored 12 of the next 14 points to cut the Titans advantage to, 58-53, five with 4:59 remaining. Fullerton pushed its lead back out to 11 over the next three minutes and change, and that's when UC Riverside mounted its final comeback.
A Sam Finley three with 1:27 to go made it an eight-point game, and a Steven Jones free throw with 1:07 on the clock cut the Titans advance to seven. Steve McClellan missed two free throws on Fullerton's next possession, and then the Titans fouled Finley on a three-pointer. The freshman drained all three to make it 68-64 Cal State Fullerton.
Marquis Horne made one of two freebies on the Titans' next trip down the floor, but John countered by making a pair to reduce the lead to three. Horne made one of two shots from the charity stripe with 38 seconds to go, and Nick Gruninger made it a one possession by sinking two free throws of his own.
Cal State Fullerton made six free throws down the stretch, however, to ice the game.
Williams and Johns shared game-high scoring honors with 21 points, and Johns added 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.
The Highlanders return home Saturday to take on UC Irvine at the SRC Arena. Tip is slated for 7 pm PT.
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