7-16 (2-7BWC)
UC Riverside
7-13 (5-4BWC)
Pair of Long Runs Spark UC Riverside Over Cal Poly, 67-56
2/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – UC Riverside went on a 17-0 run to take the lead for good in the first seven minutes of the second half and put together a 12-0 spurt in the final four minutes to turn a one-point lead into a 13-point advantage en route to a 67-56 Big West Conference men's basketball victory over Cal Poly on Saturday night in Mott Athletics Center.
Bidding for their third win in the last four games following a 10-game losing streak, Cal Poly led 35-27 on a layup by Aleks Abrams with 17:39 to play before the visiting Highlanders went on their first run, taking a 44-35 lead with 13:33 to go. The Mustangs missed five floor shots and turned the ball over twice before a layup by Victor Joseph ended the drought. .
The Mustangs pulled to within a point at 54-53 with 3:44 to go on another layup by Joseph, but UC Riverside went 8-for-8 from the line and hit a pair of jumpers while Cal Poly missed another five shots in a row, all three-point attempts.
The Highlanders led 66-53 after the second run with 32 seconds to play and coasted to the win, improving to 7-13 for the season and 5-4 in Big West games.
Despite 22 points from Joseph (pictured above), his fourth consecutive game of 20 or more points, Cal Poly fell to 7-16 and 2-7. Joseph made nine of 22 floor shots and one of three free throws for his team-leading 13th double-digit scoring game of the season.
No other Mustang scored in double figures but Ridge Shipley tallied nine points and Kyle Toth added eight.
UC Riverside was paced by guard Dikymbe Martin with 17 points. Brandon Rosser added 16 points and Menno Dijkstra 11.
UC Riverside outrebounded Cal Poly 41-29, led by Secean Johnson with 13 and Chance Murray with eight. Zach Gordon's 12 rebounds for Cal Poly were two shy of his career high.
Cal Poly led 28-25 at the break despite sinking just 38 percent of its floor shots. The Mustangs finished 37 percent for the game, including 10 of 37 from three-point range, while UC Riverside connected on 43 percent of its floor shots, seven of 17 from long range.
Cal Poly was just two of seven from the free throw line while the Highlanders made 20 of 23.
Shipley added four assists while Luke Meikle and Jakub Niziol each notched a pair of steals.
UC Riverside jumped to an early 13-6 lead in the first half and led 22-14 with 8:31 to play before Cal Poly went on a 9-0 run and closed out the opening half with a 14-3 spurt and the 28-25 lead at intermission.
The Mustangs turned the ball over just six times, their third-lowest total of the season. UC Riverside was charged with 13 turnovers.
Cal Poly returns to action next Thursday at Hawai'i.
