UCR d. UC Santa Barbara, 76-71
Jan. 3, Riverside CA - UC Riverside opened its Big West campaign with a home victory over UC Santa Barbara in front of a jampacked crowd at the Student Recreation Center, 76-71. The Highlanders as usual started strong and led 23-13 going into the second quarter but an 11-0 run by UC Santa Barbara nullified the advantage and enabled the Gauchos to finish the first half on top, 35-31. Freshman Jared Gilmore scored underneath to give a 44-43 lead back to the Highlanders where it would stay or good. But the Gauchos never surrendered, twice they cut the lead to only 1, the last time at 72-71 after James Donnelly pumped in a trey with 20.5 ticks left. Brandon Dowden and Kyle Austin then finished the game with clutch free throws.
Kyle Austin made up from a mediocre performance the last time to score 22 points for the Highlanders and take the Player of the Game honors. Sean Cunningham contributed 14 while guards Brandon Dowdy and Javon Bowden added 11 and 10 respectively. Rookie standout Cory Carmichael led all scorers with 23 points for the Gauchos. Nikolai Kossenko had 17 markers and a game high 9 rebounds while reserve forward James Donnely finished with 11.
Recruiting: 4-star Quinn Moody commits to the Highlanders
After the home victory against UC Santa Barbara head coach Tim Bell received the welcome news that much sought after high school player Quinn Moody have committed to UC Riverside for next season. A 6'3 188-lb passer scorer, Moody, playing out of Clinton IA, is a 4-star point guard who is ranked #146 and a high # 28 in his position.
* Correction: I earlier reported Quinn Moody a 3-star recruit, he is a 4-star. My bad. This is the first time I ever had a 4-star commit, either here or College Hoops 2K8.