On Feb. 20, 2025, in the Student Recreation Center (SRC) Arena, the University of California, Riverside (UCR) men’s basketball team faced off against California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), with UCR taking the win with a final score of 87-66.
The message before the game was “carpe diem,” meaning “seize the day.” This contributed to the big win because although CSULB’s team was reeling a little, they knew that CSULB would “swing for the fences and come out with their best punch.”
At the beginning of the first half of the game, CSULB’s team came in strong, taking an early lead until Hargress knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers putting UCR ahead 21-20. Magpayo explains that he wanted to attack opponents by taking a slow approach and letting the game come to them. However, when this wasn’t working to their advantage, a more aggressive game plan helped the Highlanders get a hold of the game.
The top scorers in this game were Austin Johnson from CSULB, scoring 22 points, and Nate Pickens from UCR, breaking his personal record as a Highlander when scoring 27 points in a single game.
A play that stood out drastically was during the second half, with less than 10 minutes left on the clock: the ball was in CSULB’s possession, but a sloppy pass was poked away by Hargress. His momentum gave him a clear path to the hoop, leading to a fast break dunk.
Currently, in the Big West Conference, four-seed UCR goes against 3-seed California State University, Northridge (CSUN) on March 6 at home in the SRC. When reflecting on CSUN beating the two-seed UC Irvine, Coach Mike Magpayo shared that it does not matter and that they control their destiny.
Magpyao elaborates that UCR beat CSULB once, and that UCR would have more control over their fate due to having home court advantage. According to the coach, catching the second seed “would be huge,” and he is optimistic that UCR could sneak into the top two which would allow for extra rest for the playoffs.. Currently, the team’s objective is to take each game, one at a time, and focus on themselves to ensure the team’s best possible outcome.
Junior guard Isaiah Moses commented after the game, “I feel like we’re really together and our chemistry is on the rise every single game. We love playing with each other and for each other and I feel like we’re growing as the season goes on.”
Overall, UCR walked out with a vital 87-66 win, improving their Big West Conference record to 11-5. On Feb. 22, 2025, the Highlanders had another chance to climb up the standings against California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO) at the Mott Athletic Center Arena, but the Highlanders left with a loss falling 12 points short.
Although Cal Poly SLO possessed a record of 4-11 going into this game, they exited the game with a big overtime win, improving their record to 5-11 in the process.
The final score of this game was 112-100. Hargress and Cal Poly SLO’s Jarred Hyder led their respective teams with 25 points each. The Highlanders’ upcoming game is a road test against Hawaii this Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025 at 9 p.m.
