UC RIVERSIDE PUMMELS PACIFIC BLACK AND BLUE, 86-55
Mar. 5, Riverside CA – Today will be well remembered as the day UC Riverside beat the hell out of Pacific inside the Student Recreation Center. The Highlanders mauled, beat up and pummeled the Tigers figuratively to submission, 86-55. Coach Raymond Rose could not believe it. Pacific’s Bob Thomason had enough of it. It was undoubtedly the best game for the Highlanders this season. They shot 59% from the field and outrebounded the Tigers, 31-16. Michael Nunnally, the conference no.2 in rebounds, could only muster a measly 1 board. So lethargic were the Tigers that at one point coach Thomason almost walked out of the game in disgust. The 31-point defeat was Pacific’s worst in Big West history. For Coach Rose, his decision to return to 4-Out may have solved the Highlander puzzle.
UC Riverside led as much as 10 early, sustained the lead to finish the half up by 12, 36-24. Chris Johnson was unstoppable and had 15 points in the opening half. Pacific cut the lead to 9 early in the final half but that was as close the Tigers could get. With 6 minutes remaining, Thomason waived the white flag and pulled out his starters.
Johnson finished with a game-high 25 points and was the “Player of the Game”. Charles Jim-George who had only 11 minutes of playing time added 12 points. Team captain Larry Cunningham, who had a one-on-one pep talk with Coach Rose before the game, responded with a prodigious 9 assists. B.J. Visman and Benoit Bekono had 8 and 7 rebounds respectively. C.J. Morgan led the hapless Tigers with 13 points while Chad Troyer added 12.
The Highlanders next play the UC Davis Aggies on March 8 to end their regular season. UC Davis beat UC Riverside last January 4, 67-64, on a game ending 3-pointer by Vince Oliver. For Pacific, they finished the regular season 16-11 overall and 12-4 in the Big West as the conference top seed but the loss to UC Riverside shattered the Tigers' Big West invincibility.
WOW you dominated that game! Hope you can keep it up
I really don't know what happened there. Momentum is on their side against the UC Davis Aggies, if they can maintain their composure and confidence they can beat anybody in Big West.
Mar. 8, Riverside CA – UC Riverside failed to sustain their momentum as the UC Davis Aggies outlasted the Highlanders, 71-65. The victory by UC Davis eliminated Long Beach State from the Big West tournament which starts March 12. With the loss, UC Riverside finished at no. 7 and will meet no. 2 UC Santa Barbara. UC Davis will play no. 1 Pacific.
Vince Oliver, who shot a game-ending three-pointer in Game 1, was again UC Riverside’s pain in the neck. Oliver outplayed and outsmarted the Highlander defense en route to a game-high 21 points. Oliver was undoubtedly the “Player of the Game”. Dominic Calegari added 7 points and 10 rebounds while David Carter had 7 points and 6 assists. Chris Johnson battled Oliver point by point but succumbed in the end game. Johnson finished with 20 points, followed by Chares Jim George with 13 and Aaron Scott with 10.
Pacific (1) vs. UC Davis (8) UC Santa Barbara (2) vs. UC Riverside (7) Cal Poly (3) vs. UC Irvine (6) Cal State Fullerton (4) vs. Cal State Northridge (5)
OPENING SHOCKER, UC RIVERSIDE KNOCKS OFF UC SANTA BARBARA, 76-66
Mar. 12, Anaheim CA – Beating Pacific was never a fluke and UC Riverside knew they have the same chance as anybody else in the Big West. The opening game of the Big West Tournament at the Honda Center proved just that as the UC Riverside Highlanders pulled another surprise shocker, by knocking off No. 2 seed the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, 76-66.
The Highlanders led by 10 with 7 minutes left in the first half, 26-16, behind the 12 points of Chris Johnson, went up by 14 at 39-25 as the Big West top scorer Alex Harris was hounded by the Highlander defense. UC Riverside finished the half still up by 10, 41-31. The Gauchos managed to cut the lead to a single digit as Harris got hot, 53-44, then at 67-59 with 3 minutes left as the jampacked crowd got ready for an exciting finish. But B. J. Visman plucked an offensive rebound off a Charles Jim-George miss for a put back to move the Highlander lead back to double-digits, 69-59. Jim-George, who had a poor shooting night with a surprisingly 0 of 3 from the arc, finally dropped one atop the keyhole to push UC Riverside to an insurmountable lead, 72-59.
The Gauchos shot 56% from the field but felt short as the Highlanders outshot them from the free throw line, 24-7. But it was the battle of the boards that sealed UC Santa Barbara’s doom. UC Riverside outrebounded UC Santa Barbara, 30-18, with 12 on offense to the Gauchos’ 3. Johnson scored a game-high 25 points, his 3rd straight 20-plus game, to take “Player of the Game” honors. Aaron Scott added 10 while Jim-George finished with 9. Harris led the Gauchos with 16 followed by Chris Devine and George Murphy with 14 and 10 points respectively.
Cal Poly earned the right to meet UC Riverside after the Mustangs eliminated the UC Irvine Anteaters, 61-52. Dawn Whiten led Cal Poly with 16 points while Matt Hanson added 11. Titus Shelton had 6 points and 8 rebounds. Michael Hunter had a game-high 18 points for UC Irvine followed by Chuma Awaji with 13.
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos at UC Riverside Highlanders
02-27-2012, 01:37 PM
Pacific (1) vs. 
UC Davis (8)
UC Santa Barbara (2) vs. 
UC Riverside (7)
Cal Poly (3) vs. 
UC Irvine (6)
Cal State Fullerton (4) vs. 
Cal State Northridge (5)
