November 14, 2015
Highlanders 100 – Warriors 68
On Saturday, November 14, the UC Riverside men’s basketball team took on the William Jessup University Warriors. UC Riverside students gathered for the traditional homecoming game at the SRC hoping for a victory. The Highlanders started the game off well, scoring 17 of the first 21 points. However, the Warriors were undeterred, countering with a 15-1 run of their own making the score 19-18 in their favor with 10:25 remaining in the first half. While the Warriors led 26-23 with only 6:59 left in the first, the Highlanders scored 17 of the next 20 points gaining an 11-point lead, 40-29.
At the half, UC Riverside had a nine point advantage as Jaylen Bland led all scorers with 12 points and Taylor Johns nearly recorded a double-double with seven points and seven boards.
Yet their momentum seemed loss early in the second half as William Jessup gained a four point lead, 44-40, with 16:50 on the clock. However, a 22-4 Highlander run capped by a three pointer over a five minute stretch by Secean Johnson ended any chance of a Warrior win. At this point the Highlanders led by 18 or more points the rest of the game.
During the second half of the game, the Highlanders found their rhythm, en route to a 100-68 win. Both Johns and Bland played a big part throughout the game, scoring 23 points each. Johns scored 16 after the break in 12 minutes making seven out of eight field goal attempts including one from long distance and Bland added 11 points in the final 20 minutes of the game making four out of six shots including three of four from the three-point range.
Newcomer Gentrey Thomas contributed with 11 points in the second, going 5-7 from the floor. The William Jessup offense made 22 points, making 10 out of 12 on the free throw line. The Warriors’ Andre Smith added a 12 point and 10 rebound double-double, but the bench was accountable for just seven of the team’s 68 points.
The UC Riverside men’s basketball team is now 1-0 on the season and will remain at home this week as they host the Santa Clara Broncos on Thursday, November 19 beginning at 7 p.m. The team will then head to San Francisco on Saturday, November 21 for a 7 p.m. tip against the University of San Francisco Dons.
