|
(March 8, 2008) –
Sophomore Sean Cunningham tied a career-high with 22 points
as UC Riverside (8-20, 4-12 Big West) beat UC Davis 75-66
to earn a spot in next week's Big West Conference tournament.
Senior Larry Cunningham finished with 12 points while playing
in his final game at the Student Rec Center.
The Highlanders shot a
scorching 15-21 (71.4%) in the second half to finish the game
at 59.1% from the floor. UCR had four different players score
in double figures as they surpassed last season's win total
with their eighth win and head into the Conference Tournament
with some momentum.
UC Davis (9-22, 2-14 Big
West) jumped out to a six-point 11-5 lead through the first
seven minutes but UCR later answered with an 11-2 run. Junior
Christian Soto finished off the run with a layup at the 1:30
mark to give the Highlanders a 25-21 advantage. Junior Aaron
Scott then added a layup in the final seconds, to put UCR
up 27-25 at the half.
After knocking down 11-of-23
(47.8%) of their shots in the first 20 minutes, the Highlanders
opened the second half even hotter. They made eight of their
first 10 shots and stretched their lead to seven, 46-39, after
Sean Cunningham's jumper from the left baseline at the 13:19
mark.
The UCR lead would slowly
grow to eight points and stay around eight for much of the
half before their lead grew to 10, 69-59, after two free-throws
from Larry Cunningham with just under a minute remaining.
The Highlander defense forced 10 Aggie turnovers and grabbed
18 defensive boards to limit the UCD second-chance opportunities.
UCR made eight of their final 10 trips to the line to pick
up the victory.
Sean Cunningham led the
way as he made eight of his nine field goal attempts including
both from behind the arc to tie his season-high which he set
earlier this season at UC Davis. Scott also produced a 5-for-6
effort on his way to finishing with 13 points. Soto put up
11 points and grabbed a game-high six rebounds along with
junior Cleavon Barlow who also brought down six for the Highlanders.
UCR enters next week's
tournament as the number seven seed after Long Beach State
lost earlier in the night. The Highlanders will be matched
up against #6 seed Cal Poly on Wednesday night at the Anaheim
Convention Center.
|
