California State University Northridge Athletics
California State University at Northridge
6-17, 2-6
UC Riverside
10-11, 3-4
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| CSUN | 31 | 31 | 62 |
| UC Riverside | 29 | 37 | 66 |
CSUN Denied by UC Riverside 66-62
1/31/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
En Español
RIVERSIDE, Calif. -
Landon Drew scored a season-high 16 points for CSUN but the Matadors (6-17, 2-6 Big West) could not overcome 25 fouls and 24 UC Riverside free throws as the Highlanders (10-11, 3-4 Big West) escaped with a 66-62 win on Saturday evening at SRC Arena. Stephan Hicks added 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and CSUN shot 50 percent from the field in the loss.
"I thought that our guys played pretty good basketball," said CSUN head coach Reggie Theus. "I thought that we really outplayed them in every phase of the game, except they shot 31 free throws to our 12."
The Matadors raced out to an early lead thanks to four quick points by Stephen Maxwell. A 3-pointer by Drew gave CSUN a seven-point advantage, 9-2, with 15 minutes to go in the first half.
CSUN led by as many as 11 points in the opening 20 minutes, but an 8-0 run by the Highlanders pulled UCR to within three at 20-17. Back-and-forth play over the final eight minutes of the half allowed the Matadors to hold a two-point lead going into the locker room thanks to two free throws by Aaron Parks.
Hicks opened up the second half with a jumper to push the margin to four points before a rally by UCR gave the Highlanders their first lead of the game at 34-33. The teams traded barbs the rest of the way, with the Matadors' last lead 45-44 at the Under 12 Media Timeout.
CSUN was able to keep the game close down the stretch, closing a six-point gap to just one with three minutes remaining. The Highlanders scored the next six points to seal the win.
Drew made seven of his 11 attempts from the floor, including a pair of triples to lead the game for the Matadors. Hicks had six rebounds while Maxwell chipped in 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting.
"Overall, I thought we played a great game for 40 minutes but what hurt us was we committed too many turnovers," said Hicks. "They scored off of our turnovers."
As a team, the Matadors went 25-for-50 from the field and 4-for-7 beyond the arc but committed 15 turnovers that lead to 22 points for UC Riverside. The Highlanders also converted on 24-of-31 free-throw attempts.
Taylor Johns scored 13 of his game-high 27 points from the charity stripe for UCR, but as a team the Highlanders shot just 37 percent (19-for-52) from the floor.
The Matadors will head back out on the road for their next game, driving down to Orange County for a showdown with Cal State Fullerton on Thursday, Feb. 5. Tipoff at Titan Gym is slated for 7 p.m.
