UC Irvine Falls to UC Riverside, 65-56
Jan. 23, 2010
IRVINE, Calif. --- Dwight Gordon scored a career-high 19 points and Kyle Austin added 18 as UC Riverside defeated UC Irvine, 65-56, before a crowd of 4,107 at the Bren Events Center Saturday night.
Gordon was 7 of 11 from the field while Austin was 7 of 14, including 6 of 10 in the second half when he scored 16 of his points.
Senior guard Michael Hunter led UCI (9-11, 3-5) with 20 points and sophomore forward Eric Wise added 14 points and four assists. Hunter was 7 of 11 from the field, including 4 of 6 on threes as he lifted his career total to 208. He is now 16th in UCI career scoring with 1,152 points.
The Highlanders, who were trailing 51-48 with 7:04 remaining, closed out the game with a 17-5 run in improving to 8-11 overall and 2-5 in the Big West.
With the game tied at 52-52 with 4:27 left, Gordon hit back-to-back baskets at the 3:49 and 3:06 marks to give Riverside the lead for good at 56-52.
Two free throws by Darren Moore cut UCI's deficit to 57-56 with 1:24 remaining, but Austin hit a jumper and the Highlanders added six free throws in the final 41 seconds to preserve the win.
Riverside shot 57.1 percent from the field in the second half and 50 percent for the game. The Anteaters, who led 27-24 at halftime, shot 38.3 percent for the game. The Highlanders out-rebounded UCI, 31-23, with Bryson Hampton snaring a game-high seven boards.
"They made some key baskets down the stretch and we were not able to convert," UCI head coach Pat Douglass said. "Austin hit some clutch shots and their guards did a good job of attacking. I was not happy with our perimeter defense."
"This was like a typical Big West game -- you are going to have your work cut out for you each night. It was a disappointing game to lose, being at home with a big crowd," Douglass added.
UCI hosts league-leading Pacific Thursday night at 7:05 in the Bren Center.
