For
the first time since 1980, Big Ten Nebraska loses its home opener
For the
second time in three years, the UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team
(1-0) opened its season on the road with a big win over a power five
conference team. Tuesday night, the Highlanders roasted the
Cornhuskers (0-1) from Nebraska 66-47, marking the program's largest
margin of victory on opening night against a DI opponent, and the
first time the Huskers have lost their home opener since 1980.
UCR led
by four points at the half before erupting for a 34-19 second period
where the Highlanders held the Big Ten affiliate Huskers to a
shooting mark of 23.1 percent from the field.
"When
we reassessed our team over the summer, we knew we had to make huge
strides on defense and in rebounding the ball, and I thought tonight
those two areas were key in getting the win here in Nebraska,"
head coach David Patrick said.
"Our guys have bought into our new defensive system, they
followed the scouting report to a 'T', and we were more physical than
them for most of the night.
UC
Riverside got out to slow start after making the first field goal of
the contest, falling behind 16-7 in the first seven minutes but
bounced bask with a sense of urgency, going on a 9-4 run to cut the
lead 20-16. A barrage of threes by sophomores Dragan
Elkaz and DJ
McDonald, as well as junior
George Willborn III, would see the
Highlanders take their first lead of the game since early on and go
into the locker rooms up 32-28.
The
second half was all Highlanders, with the team growing its lead from
four to 18 in the first 10 minutes of the period behind great defense
and efficient shooting. UCR was red hot, shooting 41.8 percent from
the field, 48 percent from beyond the arc, and 88.9 percent from the
free-throw line.
On the
opposite end, the visitor held its host Huskers to a dismal 29.1 from
the field, 23.1 from three, and 47.4 from the stripe. This strong
performance on both ends of the floor in combination with a dominant
49-29 win in the rebound battle allowed UCR to hold on throughout the
final minutes and take the first ever meeting between the two teams
66-47.
The
biggest story on the individual end was Willborn III, who notched a
huge double-double with 13 points and 18 rebounds in his Highlander
debut. His 14 defensive rebounds land him in a three-way tie for most
all-time at UCR, joining Taylor Johns
(2015) and Kevin
Bradshaw (2011). He also added three
steals on the evening.
"I
was trying to be aggressive on the boards tonight. If the ball was in
the air and I was in the vicinity, I was going to go after it,"
Willborn III
said. "Offensively we did a great job of spacing out, we had
some great shooters in the corners, [McRae] did his thing today, and
everybody was doing their part so I did my part and scored when I
needed to."
Four
Highlanders landed in double figures, with McDonald leading all
scorers with 15 points off the bench thanks to three second-half
triples and an efficient four-for-six performance. Junior Dominick
Pickett and Elkaz notched 10 and 14,
respectively, and each got the start. Together, those four would
combine for 52 of the team's 66 points on 17-of-33 shooting.
McRae
earned the start in the middle and created havoc all night forcing
Huskers to change their shots and coming up with nine points and six
boards, while sophomore Zac Watson
grabbed 12 rebounds off the bench. Freshman
Zyon Pullin looked strong in his
college debut, bringing the ball up the floor for the majority of the
team's possessions and pacing the offense. The Highlanders found
success deep in the bench despite, with a few key players missing
Tuesday's match-up.
"Our
motto this year is 'United, Competitive, Resilient' and the
resiliency part means the next guy has to be able to step up no
matter the circumstance," Patrick
said. "With the additions to our
roster and the growth of the guys who were freshmen and are now
sophomores, we have a lot fo different weapons we can attack you
with."
UC
Riverside returns home from its season-opening victory to host Idaho
at SRC Arena Saturday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m.
Press
Release Provided by the University of California Riverside
[slideshow_deploy
id='15740]
Comments
Post a Comment