Last Thursday, the University of California, Riverside (UCR) men’s basketball team hosted UC Irvine (UCI) in hopes to improve their Big West Conference record.
The Highlanders entered Thursday’s game on an exciting high after beating California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) the game prior, boosting their conference record to 2-5. Meanwhile, the Anteaters had a 5-2 conference record, but came into the game with a two-game losing streak after losing at the University of Hawai’i and UC Davis.
The game opened with the Anteaters winning the tip and going on a 7-0 opening run. Redshirt sophomore guard Jurian Dixon scored five of those seven points, forcing head coach Gus Argenal to call an early timeout less than three minutes into the game.
Following the team timeout, the Highlanders were able to make good defensive plays. Although they struggled to attack the paint, UCR was able to find open shooters on offense. Graduate guard Andrew Henderson finally got the Highlanders on the board with a three-pointer.
Despite both teams trading baskets all throughout the first half, due to early scoring from UCI, the Anteaters extended their lead to 14 points at certain points in the first half.
After a pair of three-pointers from graduate forward Jailen Daniel-Dalton, the Highlanders finally started to find their own rhythm. The Highlanders rode a wave of momentum to cut the deficit to just five points by the end of the first half, 38-33.
The Anteaters came into the second half with restored energy. Even with the much needed break, UCR could not quite keep up with the momentum that UCI had. The Anteaters opened the second half with a 19-0 run and it would take the Highlanders over six minutes to score in the second half.
Marqui Worthy Jr. stopped the bleeding by nailing a three-pointer. Worthy went 7/16 from the field and 6/7 from the free throw line and finished with a game-high 22 points.
Once UCI stretched their lead to over 20 points, the Anteaters didn’t look back. The Highlanders were able to cut the lead to nine points with seven minutes to play, but never got any closer after that. UCI held on to win, 80-66, and improved to 6-2 in conference play. The loss dropped UCR to 2-6 in the Big West
This past Saturday, the Highlanders hit the road to face UC Davis. Worthy Jr. once again led the team in scoring with 18 points, but UCR fell short once again in a 74-66 loss.
This week, UCR will play Long Beach State on Thursday, Jan. 29 in the Student Recreation Center (SRC) Arena in hopes to get back on track with another conference win.
