RIVERSIDE, Calif. – UC Riverside's Taylor Johns scored 28 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to lead the Highlanders to a 78-67 victory over HBU Saturday afternoon at SRC Arena.
Junior guard
Anthony Odunsi led HBU (4-5) with 17 points, while senior guard
Marcel Smith went 3-for-5 from long distance to finish with 14 points. Sophomore forward
Colter Lasher had 12 points, four rebounds and four assists, senior guard
Tyler Russell scored a season-high 12 points and freshman center
Josh Ibarra had nine points, 10 rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Johns went 9-for-22 from the field, 10-for-12 from the free throw line for the Highlanders (6-4). Jaylen Bland added 13 points and five rebounds, while Alex Larsson had 10 points and seven boards.
HBU shot 39 percent from the field, went 6-for-13 from behind the arc and 17-for-20 from the free throw line. UCR shot 42 percent, 7-for-16 from 3-point range and 21-for-29 from the stripe. The Highlanders outrebounded the Huskies, 47-28.
Lasher opened the game by knocking down a three, but UCR went on an 11-0 run, capped by a Boezeman three and a pair of free throws by Austin Quick. The Huskies trailed by nine at the midpoint, but Russell buried a three and Lasher found Ibarra cutting for a layup to make the score 17-13 with 8:21 left. Boezeman made a three for the Highlanders, then Smith answered with a four-point play.
Another three by Smith got HBU within two, but Johns came back with two-straight buckets and Larsson made a layup to put UCR up 28-20 with 4:01 to go. Smith drove in for a layup to score his ninth-straight point for the Huskies, but Larsson hit a jump hook in the paint on the other end for the Highlanders. After Ibarra made a free throw, Bland hit a corner three to extend UCR's advantage to 10 with 1:20 remaining. Johns' putback just before the buzzer gave the Highlanders a 37-25 lead at the break.
HBU shot 35 percent, including 4-for-8 from 3-point range in the first half, while UCR shot 46 percent, but only 3-for-10 from behind the arc. The Highlanders held a huge edge on the boards in the opening frame, outrebounding the Huskies, 25-11. Smith led the Huskies with nine points in the first half, while Johns had 11 and Larsson had 10 for the Highlanders.
Thornton nailed a three and Johns made a pair of free throws to push the Highlanders' lead to 17, before Lasher got the Huskies on the board with a 3-pointer. After a sweeping hook by Johns, Smith banked a runner off the glass, then Odunsi outscored the Highlanders, 9-5, by himself to cut the Huskies' deficit to 49-39 with 14:11 to go.
Ibarra hit a short jumper to get the Huskies back within single digits, then Russell made a pair of free throws to make it a six-point game with 11:04 remaining. A layup and a free throw by Steven Jones and a three by Quick restored UCR's lead to 13 at the 7:51 mark, and HBU was unable to get closer than 11 the rest of the way.
The Huskies will have 10 days off for Christmas break, before returning to action when they host Ecclesia Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. at Sharp Gym in the final non-conference game of the season. HBU will also be at home for the Southland Conference opener against Northwestern State Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015.
