2001-02 Archive

Morton Named Big West Defensive Player of the Year
(3/5/02) - UC Riverside sophomore center Vili Morton (Palm Desert HS, Twenty-Nine Palms, CA) was overwhelmingly named Big West Defensive Player of the Year as the conference announced its specialty team Monday.
Joining Morton on the squad were Cal Poly's Steve Geary as best sixth man and Long Beach State's Ron Johnson as best hustle. The awards were nominated by conference coaches and voted on by the players, who could not vote for players on their own teams.
Morton was the Highlanders' leading scorer and rebounder, starting all 26 games. He averaged 10.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game overall and 10.3 points and 9.8 rebounds in Big West play. He was among the nation's leaders in blocked shots, finishing with a total of 83 blocks, an average of 3.2 per game. The total placed him six behind single-season leader Bob Fife. He has a career total of 118, 13 behind career leader Tim Bell, who has 131.

UCR's Vili Morton Named Second Team All-Big West, Rickey Porter Named to All-Frosh Team
(3/4/02) - UC Riverside sophomore center Vili Morton (Palm Desert HS, Twenty-Nine Palms, CA) was named to the All-Big West second team and freshman guard Rickey Porter (Mater Dei HS, Fountain Valley, CA) was named to the All-Freshman team Monday.
Morton was one of five sophomore forwards named to the second team. UC Irvine's Jerry Green was named Big West Player of the Year.
Morton was the Highlanders' leading scorer and rebounder, starting all 26 games. He averaged 10.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game overall and 10.3 points and 9.8 rebounds in Big West play and was the league's second best shooter, hitting 58.6% from the floor. He recorded a total of 83 blocks, six behind single-season leader Bob Fife.
Porter was the Highlanders back-up point guard and played in all 26 games. He averaged 4.3 points and 1.5 rebounds overall and 4.6 points and 1.4 boards in conference play.

Gauchos Beat Highlanders, 80-58
(3/2/02) - The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos ended the UC Riverside men's basketball team's season on a down note with an 80-58 win in front of 2,671 at the Thunderdome in Santa Barbara Saturday.
The Highlanders were led by 17 points by sophomore guard Ted Bell, who hit four three-pointers. Senior forward Lloyd Cook, starting his final game for UCR, had 10 points.
Four Santa Barbara starters scored in double digits, led by Branduinn Fullove's 18-point effort. Mark Hulll added 16 points and Adama Ndiaye had 15.
The Gauchos out-rebounded the Highlanders, 41-24, and forced the Highlanders into 18 turnovers. UCR shot 37.5% from the field and was just 29.2% from the three-point line, connecting on 7-of-24. Santa Barbara shot 44.4% on the evening, including 54.8% in the second half.
The Highlanders led 19-16 with 10:34 remaining in the first half, but scored just four points the rest of the half. The Gauchos, meanwhile got a quartet of baskets from center Ndiye and a pair of buckets from Hull to help them build a nine-point halftime advantage at 32-23.
The Highlanders went on a run of their own, outscoring the Gauchos 13-3 to cut the score to 36-35 on a trey by Bell with 15:42 remaining.
But the Gauchos regained the momentum and took advantage of Highlander turnovers and poor shooting to build the lead back to the ten-point range and pulled away from there.
"It has been the same story all season, we have had a tough time scoring," Coach John Masi said. "I thought that we played pretty good defense in the first half, but they made a barrage of baskets at the end."
"Allowing 18 offensive rebounds (for UCSB) isn't going to get it done," Masi added.
Morton had three blocks in the game and finished the season with 83 blocks, six behind single-season leader Bob Fife. With a career total of 118, he is now 13 behind career leader Tim Bell, who has 131.
The Highlanders, who are ineligible for the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament due to their recent move to Division I, finish the season at 8-18 overall and 5-13 in conference. The Gauchos are now 17-10 overall and 11-7 in the Big West.

Mustangs Trample UCR, 90-65
(2/28/02) - The Cal Poly Mustangs handed the visiting UC Riverside Highlanders a lopsided 90-65 loss in front of a crowd of 2,879 at Mott Gymnasium in San Luis Obispo Thursday.
The Mustangs' Varnie Dennis led all scorers with 18 points and he also had a game high seven rebounds. Guard Eric Jackson had 15 points and guard Jason Allen added 11. The Mustangs shot 59.3% on the evening and out-rebounded the Highlanders 37-32.
UCR (8-17, 5-12) was led by 17 points by junior guard Mark Miller, who hit 7-of-12 shots from the field, but missed all three of his three-point attempts. Junior forward Aaron Hands had a season-high 15 points, most of them coming in the second half when starting center Vili Morton got into foul trouble. Junior forward John Galbreath had 11 points, all coming in the second half. In all, UCR shot 44.3% from the field but were just 1-of-13 from the three point line.
The first eight minutes were fairly evenly matched and the game was tied at 12-12 at 12:02 on a layup by Miller. But the momentum shifted quickly and the game turned ugly for the Highlanders as Cal Poly (15-10, 9-8) broke out a 21-5 run to build a 33-17 lead. The Mustangs connected from all over the floor, hitting from both inside and outside. The Highlanders were scoreless for just over six minutes during the run.
The second half was more of the same as the Mustangs opened the half on a 13-2 run to build a 26-point advantage at 54-28. The rest of the game was primarily "garbage time," featuring a lot of one-on-one play and not a lot of quality basketball by either team.
The Highlanders opened the second half 0-of-6 from the free throw line before Galbreath hit a pair at 10:24. They finished the half hitting nine-of-20, a 45.0% clip.

Pacific Rallies Past UCR, 87-75
(2/23/02) - University of the Pacific forward Mike Hahn scored a game and career-high 25 points on 10-of-11 shooting to help the Tigers rally to a 87-75 win over the UC Riverside Highlanders in front of 1,173 fans Student Recreation Center in Riverside Saturday.
The Tigers had four starters in double figures. Guard Maurice McLemore had a career-high 22 points, while Mike Preston and Demetrius Jackson had 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Highlanders were led by junior forward John Galbreath, who had 16 points. Junior guard Mark Miller broke out of a slump with a 13-point performance, Kevin Butler had 12 points and Vili Morton had 11.
The Highlanders got into trouble early as the Tigers hit nine of their first 10 shots - en route to a season-best first half shooting performance of 68.2% - to build a 19-10 advantage with 13:33 remaining in the first half. The lead was extended to 14 with 7:14 remaining when Jasko Korajkic nailed a three-pointer and followed it up moments later with a dunk off a fast break to give Pacific a 30-16 lead.
But UCR immediately came roaring back, outscoring the Tigers 20-6 in the final 7:14 to draw even at 36-36 with 26 seconds remaining on a spectacular driving lay-up by Galbreath.
The second half was similar to the first as the Tigers raced out to an eight-point advantage at 51-43 with 14:38 remaining, but UCR again came back, tying the score at 54-54 with 12:02 remaining on a pair of free throws by Miller. The Highlanders rallied to a five point lead when Morton stole a pass and ran the length of the court for a two-handed dunk and moments later Miller dropped a three-pointer to give the Highlanders a 59-54 lead with 11:00 minutes left.
But the Tigers again rallied back with a 14-1 run to build up a 76-63 lead and never looked back as the Highlanders were able to get no closer than eight points the rest of way.
The Highlanders were out-rebounded by the Tigers 31-21. UCR was out-rebounded 17-5 in the first half.

Turnovers Help Matadors Beat Highlanders, 73-64
(2/21/02) - The Cal State Northridge Matadors got 25 points from Ian Boylan and 18 from Markus Carr off the bench, as they defeated the host UC Riverside Highlanders 73-64 in front of 588 fans at the Student Recreation Center Thursday.
The Highlanders (8-15, 5-10) won the battle for the boards, 33-28, out shot the Matadors from the field 46.5% to 45.6% and hit 47.1% of their three-point shots. However, they were troubled by 19 turnovers, including six by sophomore center Vili Morton. The Matadors (9-15, 8-7) committed just seven turnovers on the evening.
UCR got 19 points from sophomore guard Ted Bell, including five three-pointers. Junior forward John Galbreath had 12 points, including seven-of-seven from the free throw line, and sophomore guard Kevin Butler added 10 points. Morton had a game-high 12 rebounds and had four blocked shots, but scored just four points.
The Highlanders trailed at the intermission, 32-30 and fought back to take the lead at 53-52 on a lay-up by junior forward Aaron Hands at 10:32. But Boylan gave the Matadors much needed momentum when he nailed a three and was fouled by Hands with 7:14 remaining. Boylan drained the free throw to give CSN a 59-53 lead. UCR was able to fight back to tie the score at 61-61 with 3:25 remaining, but CSN outscored UCR 12-3 in the final three minutes to seal the win.

Aggies Beat Highlanders, 59-42
(2/16/02) - Desmond Penigar scored 10 of his game-high 18 points in the second half to help the Utah State Aggies pull out to an 59-42 win at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan, UT Saturday.
The Aggies road a series of second half scoring streaks by a trio of players to build a double-digit lead. USU got a six-point run by Toraino Johnson, nine straight by Tony Brown and six in a row by Desmond Pinegar to build a 49-36 lead with 5:42 remaining in the game.
The Highlanders were led in scoring by sophomore forward Vili Morton, who had 13 points despite being in foul trouble most of the first half due to a pair of questionable calls on the offensive end. Junior guard Jake Wessel and freshman guard Rickey Porter each had seven points. The Highlanders struggled against the Utah State defense and hit just 25.9% from the field (14-of-54) and just 15.8% (3-of-19) from the three point line.
In contrast, the Aggies shot 44.4% from the field and won the battle of the boards, 41-35.
UCR was held to just 18 points in the first half and 42 total for the second time this season, both times coming against the Aggies. The 42 points are UCR's lowest game total this season.
The game got off to a slow start and was 9-4 in favor of the Aggies in the first nine minutes. In the span UCR was just 1-for-9 from the field and USU was 3-of-11.
The Highlanders struggled from the field in the first half, hitting 6-of-26 (23.1%) shots, with Vili Morton connecting on three-of-three in the paint but no other Highlander hitting more than one basket. However, the Highlanders found themselves trailing at halftime by just eight as USU did not shoot much better, hitting just 9-of-23, a 39.1% clip.

Highlanders Show Heart on Valentine's Day With 67-56 Win
(2/14/02) - UC Riverside used a 13-2 second half run to open up a two-point ball game and give the Highlanders a 67-56 win at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, ID Thursday.
Senior forward Lloyd Cook led all scorers with a season-high 16 points and sophomore center Vili Morton had his 10th double-double of the season with 12 points and 14 rebounds and added three blocks. Sophomore guard Ted Bell had 12 points with a quartet of three pointers.
More impressively, UCR (8-13, 5-8) hit 19-of-22 free throws in the game, an 86.4% clip, their best mark of the season. Junior forward Aaron Hands led the way with a 6-for-6 performance, his best of the season.
UCR jumped out to 11-4 lead to open the game as Cook scored six of his 16 points, but then scored just one basket over the next five minutes. The Highlanders went nearly five minutes without scoring a basket, allowing the Vandals (8-15, 5-9) to claw their way back into the game. They pulled within two at 24-22 and traded baskets in the final minute as the Highlanders entered the intermission with a 28-25 lead.
UCR led 41-39 with 10:29 remaining in the game, but then went on a 13-2 run to open up a 54-41 lead. Freshman guard Rickey Porter opened the run with a bucket and Cook followed with a three a few moments later. Bell nailed a trey at the eight-minute mark to build the lead to 49-39. A basket by Cook and another trey by Bell built the Highlanders lead to 54-41 at 6:32.
But the Vandals were far from finished as they put together a 8-2 run over a three-minute span to get within seven, four coming on free throws by Matt Gerscheske and one coming on a fast-break lay-up by Bethuel Fletcher off a turnover by Porter.
The game then became a battle of free throws for the Highlanders, and UCR nailed 13-of-14 in the final three minutes, including four each by Hands and Mark Miller, to seal the victory.
The Vandals won the battle of the boards, 38-36, but was out shot by the Highlanders, 45.5% to 32.8%. Idaho was just 11-of-19 from the free throw line.
The win gives the Highlanders eight on the season, equaling their total from last year.

Highlanders Break Streak With 70-58 Win at Fullerton
(2/9/02) - Sophomore guard Ted Bell scored a career-high 23 points and senior forward Lloyd Cook added a season-high 15 points as the UC Riverside Highlanders snapped a six-game losing streak with a 70-58 win at Cal State Fullerton Saturday.
Sophomore center Vili Morton had his ninth double-double of the season with 10 points,15 rebounds and two blocks. The Highlanders (7-13, 4-8) also got seven points each from junior forward John Galbreath and sophomore guard Kevin Butler. Butler also had a season-high seven assists.
Fullerton (4-16, 1-10) got 15 points from Ryan Dillon off the bench. Center Babacar Camara had eight blocks, tying a CSF and Big West Record.
The Highlanders opened the game with four different players scoring, as they jumped out to a 10-0 lead, capping it with a trey by Bell, the first of six on the night. UCR built the lead up to 17-3 on a lay-up by Morton, another trey by Bell and a dunk by Cook.
But a familiar problem popped up for the Highlanders as their shooting went cold and the Titans began to find holes in the UCR defense to the tune of a 19-6 run, capped off by back-to-back treys by Brandon Campbell and Dillon to cut the lead to 23-22. UCR built the lead back to nine at 31-22 on a pair of free throws by Butler and two more threes by Bell, but Fullerton outscored UCR 9-2 in the final 2:36. Fullerton guard Derrick Andrew helped end the half on a high note for the Titans, draining a jumper with 30 seconds left, then blocking a jumper by Bell and scoring a fast-break lay-up as time expired to cut the Highlander lead to 33-31.
The opening of the second half was a radical departure from the first as neither team attacked the basket early on. The Highlanders slowly built the lead up to eight at 42-34, but again the Titans rallied back with an 8-2 run to cut it to 44-42, with a dunk by Camara and a three by Dillon capping the rally.
UCR responded with an 11-2 run to build an 11-point advantage and built it to as many as 15 before settling for the final 12-point margin.
UCR out shot the Titans, 44.1% to 32.1% and won the battle of the boards, 43-32. The Highlanders hit 10-of-15 free throw attempts, their best percentage in the last three games.

Highlanders Fall to Long Beach State, 69-66
(2/2/02) - A thrilling last-minute rally came up short as the UC Riverside Highlanders fell to the Long Beach State 49ers 69-66 in front of a crowd of 2,097 at the Student Recreation Center in Riverside.
UCR trailed 64-57 with 55 seconds remaining, but junior forward John Galbreath hit four straight free throws on consecutive possessions to cut the lead to 64-60 with 43 seconds left. Michael Darrret hit one-of-two free throws following a foul by Kevin Butler to give LBSU a 65-60 lead, but UCR sophomore guard Ted Bell hit a trey to cut the margin to 65-63 with 17 seconds left.
The Highlanders (6-13, 3-8) fouled Ron Johnson to send him to the line with 16 seconds left, and Johnson nailed both shots to enhance LBSU's lead to 67-63. Butler nailed a three with four seconds left to make it 67-66, and followed with a foul of Darrett. But Darrett put the game away with a pair of free throws with two seconds left. UCR had a final chance to tie, but Galbreath's inbound pass was wild, sending the Highlander faithful home disappointed.
LBSU senior forward Travis Reed's career high 31 points on 12-of-18 shooting was the main force behind the 49ers victory. His 11 rebounds gave him his seventh double-double of the season. Reed's performance makes him a strong candidate for Big West Player of the Week honors coming off of a 30-point performance at Fullerton on Thursday.
Forward James Williams added 12 points for the 49ers and was the only other Long Beach (8-14, 4-7) player to finish in double digits.
For the Highlanders, Bell had a season-high and career-high tying 18 points, coming on a career-high six treys. Sophomore center Vili Morton had his eighth double-double of the season with 11 points and a career-high 20 rebounds, but was just 1-of-8 from the free throw line. Overall, the Highlanders shot just 10-of-23 from the charity stripe.
The Highlanders trailed the 49ers 33-29 at the intermission, largely on the strength of a 17-point first half effort by Reed. In fact, taking away Reed's 8-of-10 effort, the rest of the 49ers shot just 5-of-22 (22.7%). LBSU used a 7-2 run over a three-minute span to open up a two-point lead into a 33-26 advantage with 1:13 remaining, but freshman guard Rickey Porter nailed a baseline trey with 19 seconds left to cut the lead to 33-29.
The Highlanders had shooting problems of their own in the first half, hitting just 4-of-19 (21.1%) from the three point line and 10-of-31 (32.3%) overall.

Anteaters Rally Back to Beat Highlanders, 72-64
(1/31/02) - The UC Irvine Anteaters rallied back from a nine-point halftime deficit to defeat the host UC Riverside Highlanders, 72-64, in front of a crowd of 1,163 at the Student Recreation Center in Riverside Thursday.
UCI center Adam Parada scored 10 consecutive points over a three-minute span to help the Anteaters on a 10-5 run that overcame a 59-58 UCR lead. Parada hit a pair of free throws with 5:52 remaining to give the Anteaters a 60-59 lead, then followed with a pair of follow-up baskets, the first a thunderous dunk off a Jerry Green miss and the second a tip-in off a Green miss. Parada followed with a pair of baskets from the paint to build the lead to 68-64 Anteaters (15-6, 8-2).
Meanwhile, the Highlanders (6-12, 3-7) scored just seven points over the final seven minutes of the game and only one bucket, a three-pointer by Kevin Butler with 2:36 remaining.
The Highlanders led throughout the first half, save for one UCI possession at 22-21 on a basket by Green. The Highlanders finished the half on an 8-2 run, the final bucket coming on a driving dunk by Lloyd Cook with 30 seconds remaining.
Riverside was led with 12 points by sophomore center Vilir Morton. The Highlanders had eight players score at least five points, including junior forward John Galbreath with nine.
UCI's Green scored 20 points, tying the UCI career record of 1,778, now co-owned by him and current UCR assistant coach Tod Murphy. Jordan Harris had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Parada finished with 14. The Anteaters hit 27-of-52 (51.9%) from the field and connected on 13-of-15 free throws.

Matadors Defeat UCR, 84-69
(1/26/02) – The Cal State Northridge Matadors defeated the UC Riverside Highlanders 84-69 at the Matadome in Northridge Saturday.
Cal State Northridge used a 9-0 run early in the second half, powered in part by seven points by Marcus Carr, to build a 52-42 lead and never looked back. The win, combined with UC Irvine 50-47 loss at UC Irvine, vaulted the Matadors (8-10, 7-2) into first place in the Big West despite a losing record overall. UCR fell to 6-11 overall and 3-6 in the Big West. They have lost four straight games after winning five of seven.
UCR was led by a 17-point effort by senior guard Jason Perkins. Junior forward John Galbreath and junior guard Mark Miller each had 10 points for UCR.
CSN had four players score in double figures, led by Carr's 14 points.
Missed lay-ups and costly turnovers against the Matador's extended zone cost UCR chance to get back into the game. UCR had a total of 22 turnovers in the game, many coming after they broke the CSN press. In all, UCR made 18-of-51 shots (35.3%). CSN won the battle of the boards, 41-39.
The first half was a fan's dream, if the fan happened to enjoy fouls and free throws. A total of 31 fouls were called in the first 20 minutes (15 on CSN and 16 on UCR), resulting in 49 free throws (25 for UCR and 24 for CSN). The biggest heartache for the Highlander faithful was the fact that Vili Morton got called for a trio of fouls and played just four minutes. However, junior forward Aaron Hands stepped up in his absence, pulling down nine rebounds in 13 minutes. He finished with 13 rebounds.
It was free throws that kept the Highlanders in the game in the early going. UCR had just two field goals in the first nine minutes, but connected on 10-of-12 free throws to trail just 14-12 with 12:51 remaining.
The teams traded the lead several times during the first half, with UCR taking a 20-18 lead on a Perkins put-back basket followed by a trey at 10:25. The Matadors' Curtis Slaughter nailed a trey with 3:26 remaining to give CSN a 33-30 lead, which they held into the locker room, ending the half with a 37-35 advantage.

Tigers Beat Highlanders, 71-59
(1/24/02) - Stockton, CA – The University of Pacific Tigers used a balanced outside shooting attack and an outstanding rebounding effort to defeat the UC Riverside Highlanders, 71-59, at the A.G. Spanos Center in Stockton Thursday.
The Tigers hit 10 three-pointers on the evening and out-rebounded the Highlanders 40 to 28, including a 13-8 advantage on the offensive boards.
UOP's Maurice McLemore led all scorers with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including three treys. Backcourt mate Jono Metzger-Jones also hit a trio of treys en route to an 11-point evening.
The Highlanders were led by sophomore guard Ted Bell and sophomore center Vili Morton, who each scored 11 points. Morton added nine rebounds and had four blocks, slightly bettering his average of 3.9 per game, which was seventh best in the nation entering the game. For Bell, the 11-point effort was a season-high.
The Tigers used an 11-0 run early in the first half to jump out to a 20-5 lead with 11:03 remaining in the half, but the hot hand of Bell helped the Highlanders get back into it as he nailed three treys in just over a minute, helping UCR cut the lead to 25-16. Entering the evening his best single game performance had been two threes.
Senior guard Jason Perkins' converted a three-point play at 2:19 to cut the margin to eight at 34-26, picking a errant Mark Miller three-point attempt out of the air and laying it in with an over-the-shoulder toss while being fouled by McLemore. The teams traded baskets over the final two minutes make the halftime margin 38-30.
The Highlanders tried to chip into the Tiger lead in the second half but were never able to get closer than eight, as the Tigers hit several clutch threes against the Highlander zone.
In all, the Highlanders shot 42.3% (22-of-52) from the field and were 6-of-17 (35.3%) from the three-point line. They were just 9-of-17 from the free throw line, including just five-of-12 in the second half.

Highlanders Lose at the Buzzer to Idaho, 60-58
(1/19/02) - Idaho guard Justin Logan hit a jumper from the top of the key as the buzzer sounded to give the Vandals a 60-58 win over the UC Riverside Highlanders at the Student Recreation Center in Riverside Saturday.
The Highlanders (6-8, 3-3), who trailed most of the game, battled back from a nine-point second half deficit to tie the score at 58-58. With 14.7 seconds left and UCR trailing by three, senior forward Lloyd Cook dropped a pass to junior forward John Galbreath, who pump faked his defender into the air, shot and was fouled. The ball bounced on the rim several times before falling through. Galbreath hit his free throw to tie the game.
Idaho (5-11, 2-5) took the in bounds pass, then called time out with 11.4 seconds left to set up the final play. Logan took the ball at the top of the key, shot, and saw his shot fall as the buzzer sounded. He was quickly surrounded by the Vandals, who rushed the court in celebration.
The Vandals were led by forward Rodney Hilaire, who had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Forward Jerald Jenkins had 16 points and eight rebounds.
For the Highlanders, sophomore forward Vili Morton had 14 points and five rebounds. He added three blocks but fouled out after just 19 minutes of play.
As a team, the Highlanders shot just 45.5% from the field and committed 15 turnovers. More significantly, for the second game in a row the Highlanders went to the free throw line just three times, making only one.
The Vandals were 45.5% (23-of-55) from the field. They won the rebound battle, 36-32.
UCR jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first four minutes of the game, but Idaho responded with a 16-3 run, 10 points coming on scores by Hillaire, to take an 18-13 lead with 8:20 remaining. The Vandals pulled out to a seven point lead at 2:12 on a trey by Logan to make the score 30-23 and entered the half up seven at 32-25.

Utah State Cruises Past Highlanders, 68-42
(1/17/02) - A record was broken Thursday at the UC Riverside Student Recreation Center, but it wasn't on the court.
A school-record crowd of 3,168 saw the UC Riverside Highlanders (6-8, 3-3) fall to the visiting Utah State Aggies, 68-42 at the SRC. The crowd was buoyed by a huge student influx spurred by the fact that Fox Sports West 2 was making it's first ever visit to televise a UCR home game, despite an early 5:30 starting time
Unfortunately the Highlanders didn't put on much of a show for the home fans, scoring just 18 points in the first half en route to a 26-point loss.
The Aggies (13-3, 5-2) were led by guard Tony Brown, who scored a game-high 20 points on six-of-11 shooting, including five three-pointers. Forward Jeremy Vague had 17 points and forward Desmond Pinegar had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
The Highlanders failed to have a player score in double figures. Senior forward John Galbreath, sophomore center Vili Morton and senior forward Lloyd Cook each scored eight points, with Galbreath grabbing a team high nine rebounds.
Morton, who entered the game seventh in the nation in blocked shots with an average of 3.9 per game, swatted away four on Tuesday. A total of 19 fouls were called in the entire game.
The Highlanders were unable to build much of an inside game and only went to the line a total of three times in the game, missing two of the three. They also struggled from the three-point line, missing all seven first half attempts and hitting just three-of-10 in the second half.
Neither team shot well in the early going, but USU slowly began pulling away, building an 11-point lead at 10:45 on a lay-up by Jeremy Vague. The lead kept growing and stood at 34-18 at the intermission. The second half was more of the same as UCR struggled defensively against the Aggies multiple offensive threats.
The record crowd broke the previous attendance mark of 2,651 set on March 12, 1994 in a Division II playoff game against Cal State Bakersfield. In addition, approximately 350 fans were turned away at the door.

Highlanders Topple Titans, 68-60
(1/12/02) - The UC Riverside Highlanders held off a second half comeback by the Cal State Fullerton Titans to hold on for a 68-60 win at the Student Recreation Center in Riverside Saturday.
UCR junior forward John Galbreath led all scorers with 19 points and chipped in six rebounds. Galbreath was 5-of-9 from the field, including two three pointers, and 7-of-9 from the free throw line. Sophomore center Vili Morton had his seventh double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. He also had six blocked shots in the game. Senior forward Lloyd Cook had 14 points and junior forward Mark Miller 13 points to round out the double-digit scoring for UCR.
For the Titans, center Pape Sow and guard Kevin Richardson each had 16 points and guard Brandon Campbell had 12 points. On the evening the Titans shot 27.0 % (17-of-63) from the field, their lowest total since they shot 25.5% against UNLV on February 4, 1995.
UCR (6-7, 3-2) shot 48.9% (22-of-45) from the field and made 21-of-28 (75.0%) free throws, tying the best total free throws by the team this season (21-of-28 vs. UCSC on 12/15/01).
After trailing early, UCR came back to build a 35-28 halftime lead, but the Titans slowly chipped away at the margin, eventually tying the score at 48-48 on a free throw by Kevin Richardson with 8:13 remaining. But UCR responded with a 9-4 run over the next five minutes to build the lead back up to five. The Highlanders hit 11-of-12 free throws in the final 3:14 to put the game away.
The Titans (3-11, 0-5), who led by as many as five in the early going, were leading 19-15 on a free throw by Sow. But UCR went on a 10-0 run to build the lead back up to six at 25-19 with 5:36 remaining. The Titans cut the score to 25-23 on a lay-up and a pair of free throws by Sow, but UCR got a dunk by Morton and a lay-up by Miller to build the lead back up to seven at the intermission.
The game featured a total of 50 fouls and 64 trips to the foul line. The Highlanders won the rebound battle, 44-36. UCR was saddled with 22 turnovers, tying for their third highest total on the season.
The crowd of 2,116 was the largest of the season for UCR and the largest since January 27, 2001 when they played Southern Utah.

Anteaters Defeat Highlanders, 72-53
(1/5/02) - The UC Irvine Anteaters got a career-high 20 points from sophomore center Adam Parada and 18 from senior guard Jerry Green en route to a 72-53 win over the UC Riverside Highlanders at the Bren Events Center Saturday.
The Anteaters (10-4, 3-0) used a barrage of second half three pointers and a strong inside game to blow open a seven-point halftime advantage. The 53 points scored by UCR was their second lowest total of the season (50 at UCLA being the lowest).
The Highlanders (5-7, 2-2) were led with10 points from sophomore center Vili Morton. He was the only Highlander to score in double digits. Senior guard Lloyd Cook and junior forward John Galbreath each scored eight.
The Anteaters opened the second half with a pair of threes from Green and junior forward Jordan Harris to build a 47-34 lead coming out of the intermission. Then it was the Parada show, as the sophomore center scored 12 of the Anteaters next 15 points to build the lead to 62-42 with 7:21 remaining.
At halftime the Anteaters held a 31-24 advantage, led by eight points by Green and six each from Zuzak and Parada. Zuzak was key in the early going, hitting a pair of baskets and dishing off an assist to Mike Hood on a three pointer to help UCI to a 7-2 lead.
The Highlanders, who struggled against the Anteater zone early on, began to find success against it with about six minutes remaining. They were able to cut the lead to 23-20 with a 6-0 run made up of a jumper by sophomore guard Ted Bell, a pair of free throws by Morton and a nice jumper in the paint by Galbreath, but UCI built it back up to seven as the first half expired.

Highlanders Shock LBSU, 73-67
(1/3/02) - The UC Riverside Highlanders won their first Big West road game and won their fifth game in the last six tries with a 73-67 come from behind victory over Long Beach State at the Pyramid in Long Beach Thursday.
Junior forward John Galbreath led all scorers with 20 points, including 14 in the second half, as the Highlanders (5-6, 2-1) overcame an 11-point second half deficit. However, the Highlanders outscored the 49ers 20-4 in the final 6:42 to pull out the win. Sophomore center Vili Morton had his fourth consecutive double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, and senior guard Jason Perkins had 17 points, including a game-high five three pointers.
Tony Darden led LBSU with 17 points off the bench.
UCR trailed LBSU (4-9, 0-2) 64-53 on a three pointer by Darden with 6:42 remaining, capping a 9-0 run. But UCR rallied back as Perkins hit a pair of three pointers to cut the lead to 64-61, then Morton followed with a lay-up off a rebound of a Perkins miss to cut it to 64-63, sending the Highlander faithful into a tizzy.
With 4:04 remaining, Morton swatted away a shot by Travis Reed with Cook getting the rebound. Cook took it down the court for a lay-up to give UCR a 65-64 lead, a lead they would never relinquish. The teams traded baskets and LBSU cut the lead to 68-67 on a pair of free throws by Darden with 47 seconds left. But Morton put the game away with a lay-up on which he was fouled with 22 seconds remaining, then put home a free throw to give the Highlanders a 71-67 lead. The 49ers' James Williams put up a jumper inside 10 seconds in a bid to cut the lead, but Morton pulled down the rebound and dished to Butler, who was fouled. Butler nailed the two free throws to give the Highlanders the final margin of victory.
In the first half, the 49ers used a 7-0 run coming out of a time out to jump out to a 25-15 lead with 10:15 left in the first half. But the Highlanders outscored the 49ers 17-14 in the second half of the period to cut the 49er lead to seven at 39-32 at the intermission.
Turnovers were the story of the first half as UCR committed 15 in the first 20 minutes, compared to just seven by Long Beach State, helping to explain how the Highlanders trailed by seven despite out shooting the 49ers 57.1% to 55.2%, and outrebounding them 17-13. Overall, UCR committed 19 turnovers in the game and won the battle of the boards, 33-30. They also out shot LBSU, 54.0% to 51.0%.
Morton, who entered the game ranked ninth in the nation in blocked shots with 3.7 per game, had a total of four swats on the evening.
The win was the Highlanders' first ever against Long Beach State. The Highlanders were 0-15 lifetime against LBSU.

Highlanders Get First Big West Win, Defeats Cal Poly, 81-77
(12/22/01) - The UC Riverside Highlanders earned their first-ever Big West win with an 81-77 victory over visiting Cal Poly at the Student Recreation Center Saturday.
Junior forward John Galbreath had a season-high 20 points, hitting 12-of-16 free throws and sophomore center Vili Morton had his second consecutive double-double and fourth of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Senior guard Jason Perkins added 11 points.
All five Mustang starters scored in double figures, led by Brandon Beeson's 16 points. Varnie Dennis and Eric Jackson each added 14.
The Mustangs (6-3, 1-1) opened the game quickly, jumping out to an 18-8 lead on a three-pointer by Jason Allen at 13:57, but the Highlanders (3-6, 1-1) bounced back with a 15-2 run to take a 23-20 lead on a free throw by Galbreath at 8:12. The remainder of the half was nip and tuck, but the Highlanders entered the intermission with a 44-43 lead.
The second half saw Cal Poly jump out to another 10 point advantage, outscoring the Highlanders 15-4 in the first five and a half minutes to build a 58-48 advantage. But the Highlanders again came back, nibbling away and taking a 71-70 lead on a lay-up by Morton from Galbreath with 5:14 remaining. The Mustangs battled back to tie the game at 74-74 with 2:22 remaining on a pair of free throws by Dennis. However, the Highlanders built the lead back up to five on a pair of free throws by Galbreath, a jumper by Kevin Butler and a clutch free throw with 22 seconds remaining by Jason Perkins. Galbreath iced the game with four seconds left with a pair of free throws, then missed two free throws with two seconds left, the second on purpose to run out the clock.

Gauchos Defeat Highlanders, 68-56
(12/20/2001) - The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos defeated the UC Riverside Highlanders 68-56 in the Big West opener for both squads at the Student Recreation Center in Riverside Thursday.
With the win, Santa Barbara moves to 6-2 overall and 1-0 in the Big West. UCR is now 2-6 and 0-1 in the Big West.
UCR senior guard Jason Perkins led all scorers with a career-high 19 points, hitting 7-of-14 field goals and five three pointers. Sophomore center Vili Morton had his third double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. For the Gauchos, Branduinn Fullove had 18 points and Mark Hull had 14 and a team-high eight rebounds.
The Gauchos shot 50.0% from the field, while holding the Highlanders to 37.7%. The Gauchos entered the game holding opponents to 34.1%, the best in the nation.
UCSB led by 16 points with 4:28 remaining in the second half on a lay-up by Nick Jones to make the score 63-47. The Highlanders responded with a 9-0 run over the next 2:13, highlighted by a three-pointer by Perkins and five free throws by freshman guard Rickey Porter to cut the score to 63-56, but the Gauchos responded with a 5-0 run to wrap up the game.
The Gauchos led by as many as 14 in the first half, taking a 24-10 lead on a three-pointer by Jones with 10:13 remaining. The Highlanders hacked the lead down to a low of seven at 30-23 on a trey by Perkins, but Santa Barbara outscored the Highlanders 7-4 in the final seven minutes to own a 37-27 half time lead.

Highlanders Defeat Banana Slugs, 72-64
(12/15/2001) - The UC Riverside Highlanders won their first home game of the 2001-02 season with a 71-64 win over the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs at the Student Recreation Center Saturday, despite missing one of their top scorers, Lloyd Cook, who missed the game with a sprained ankle.
The game was a rough and physical contest, and the Highlanders (2-5) may have been handicapped by a lack of practice time during the week due to finals, which concluded Saturday. In fact, a few players missed the shoot around Saturday afternoon due to tests.
The Slugs' guard Jimmy Darr led all scorers with 17 points, and center Jesse Senestraro had 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds. The Slugs (1-6), who play in the NAIA, hit seven three pointers and were 15-of-20 from the free throw line.
Center Vili Morton led the Highlanders with 15 points, including five dunks, and added seven rebounds. Guard Mark Miller and guard Ted Bell each had 10 points.
The Highlanders led by as many as 21 points in the first half before finishing the first half at 44-25. For the Banana Slugs, Darr was 4-of-7 from the field, including a pair of three pointers, for 10 points.
In the second half the Slugs hit four three pointers and 13-of-17 free throws while holding the Highlanders to just 38.9% from the field. UCSC got as close as six points with eight seconds left, but could get no closer.
Cook, a senior forward, did not play for the Highlanders after suffering a sprained left ankle in Saturday's shoot around. He status is day-to-day.

Highlanders Break Pair of Streaks With 66-64 Win at Southern Utah
(12/8/2001) - The UC Riverside Highlanders ended a season-opening five game losing streak and broke the fifth longest home court winning streak in the nation by defeating Southern Utah 66-64 in Cedar City Saturday night.
The game came down to the wire as sophomore forward Vili Morton hit two free throws with six seconds remaining to stake UC Riverside to a 66-64 lead. The Thunderbirds' Jay Collins' 3-pointer was off the mark as time wound down, allowing UCR to end both the streaks in the final game of an 11-game road trip going back to last season.
With the win, UCR moved to 1-5, while Southern Utah fell to 2-5.
The game featured 14 lead changes and nine ties in which neither team led by more than six points. UCR led 64-58 when senior guard Jason Perkins hit his fifth 3-pointer of the night with 1:51 to play, but Dan Beus answered with a three for SUU. After Donnie Jackson stole an errant pass by junior forward Aaron Hands, Collins worked off a double-screen and drilled a trey from the top of the key to tie the game at 64-64 with 30 seconds to play. UCR brought the ball upcourt and worked inside where it appeared Collins had stripped Morton of the ball, but the officials whistled Southern Utah's Kevin Henry with a foul, sending Morton to the line for the decisive free throws.
Morton finished with a game- and season-high 20 points and 14 rebounds, his second double-double of the season, while Perkins had 17 for the Highlanders. Beus finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds for SUU while Collins added 13 points.

UCLA Defeats UCR, 65-50
(12/5/2001) - UCLA guard Jason Kapono scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in the second half to lead the UCLA Bruins to a 65-50 win at Pauley Pavilion Wednesday.
Senior forward Lloyd Cook led the Highlanders with 14 points and senior guard Jason Perkins had 11 and junior guard Zadkiel Elder added nine on three of four three pointers.
The Highlanders, who were in the game throughout the first half and held a 3-point lead just before halftime, were undone by a 16-0 Bruin run in the second half that built a 38-37 game into a 54-37 advantage.
The Highlanders jumped out to an early lead, breaking the UCLA zone by hitting four threes, two by Perkins and one each by Cook and Butler early on to take a 16-10 lead with 12:19 remaining.
But as has been the case in recent games, the Highlanders went into a nearly six minute scoring drought and the Bruins responded with an 8-0 run to take an 18-16 lead on a pair of Matt Barnes free throws with 7:39 remaining. The Highlanders tied it on a steal and lay-up by Butler at 6:23. The teams traded baskets down the stretch, with the Highlanders leading by as many as three points twice, the second time coming on a three-pointer by Ted Bell with 34 seconds remaining.
The Bruins built their lead to 54-37 with a 16-0 run over a seven minute span in the second half, including a quick 5-0 spurt starting with a layup and free throw by Barnes, a pair of free throws by T.J. Cummings, and a three pointer by Kapano.
But just when things were looking bleak for the Highlanders, Elder came off the bench to break the drought with a pair of threes, then stole a pass that led to a Cook lay-up to cut the score to 55-45. However, that was as close as the Highlanders would get.

Montana State Topples UCR, 82-72
(12/1/2001) - The Montana State Bobcats defeated UC Riverside 82-72, in the consolation final at the McCaffrey Classic at Fresno State University Saturday.
UCR led the game early, but the Bobcats used a 16-0 first half run to build a lead and a 9-2 run in the second half to put it away.
Junior guard Mark Miller led the Highlanders with 18 points off the bench and sophomore center Vili Morton had 10 points and five rebounds.
Montana State forward Aaron Rich had a game-high 23 points and added a team-high six rebounds. Jason Erickson had 12 points on five-of-seven shooting from the field.
The Highlanders jumped out to a 12-5 at 15:50 on a trey by sophomore guard Ted Bell, but Montana State answered with a 7-0 run to tie it at 12-12 on five straight points by Rich. The teams traded baskets with junior forward Aaron Hands giving the Highlanders a 22-18 lead with 7:20 remaining.
But from there, Montana State took control, going on a 16-0 run to turn a 22-18 deficit into a 34-22 advantage. Miller hit a three at 1:05 and a jumper with 42 seconds left to end the scoring drought and cut the Bulldog lead to 34-27, which is how the half ended.
The Highlanders opened the second half by scoring the first four points on free throws by John Galbreath and a lay-up by sophomore guard Kevin Butler to cut the score to 34-33 with 18:08 remaining. But Montana State responded by scoring the next six points, the capper being a three by Casey Reynolds to make the score 40-33. A little later the Bobcats put together a 9-2 run to put the game away.
Senior guard Jason Perkins had a strong game for the Highlanders, hitting three treys and scoring a season-high 12 points. Overall the Highlanders shot 50.0% from the field (27-of-54), 40% from the three point line (8-of-20) and 76.9% (10-of-13) from the free throw line, all season-highs.
Morton was named the All-Tournament team following the championship game.

Highlanders Fall to Fresno State, 75-58
(11/30/2001) - The host Fresno State Bulldogs, ranked No. 20 by USA Today, defeated the University of California Riverside, 75-58 in the first round of the McCaffrey Classic Tournament in Fresno Friday.
The Highlanders (0-3) played a strong game and cut the FSU lead from 20 down to 13 in the waning minutes of the game, but couldn't keep up with the heavily favored Bulldogs (5-1), who outsized them across the starting line-up despite the absence of starting center Melvin Ely.
Sophomore center Vili Morton led the Highlanders with 14 points and seven rebounds and junior forward Aaron Hands came off the bench to score 13 points and add eight rebounds.
Fresno forward Chris Jefferies had a double-double with game-highs of 23 points and 15 rebounds. Jefferies was 11-of-12 from the free throw line and at one point in the second half scored 10 straight for FSU. Forward Noel Felix and Damon Jackson each had 17 points for the Bulldogs.
Fresno took control of the game in the second half when both Morton and Hands were on the bench with four fouls, opening things up for Felix, who scored in four straight possessions to help the Bulldogs on an 8-0 run to build the lead to 54-34.
However the Highlanders did not give up, cutting into the lead with some strong inside play from Morton and getting as close as 13 in the waning minutes.
The Highlanders struggled from the free throw line and the three-point line. They were just 3-of-28 from the three point line and 11-of-24 from the field. The Highlanders did out-rebound the Bulldogs, 51-49.
The Highlanders got off to a slow start, starting 0-of-8 from the field. Miller broke the drought with a lay-up off a Kevin Butler steal to make it 11-4 at 14:20.
However the Highlanders heated up as the half wore on, cutting into the Bulldogs lead and turning on the defense, holding Fresno State scoreless in a nearly five minute span and putting together a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 24-21. But the Bulldogs outscored the Highlanders 13-6 over the final 3:42 of the half to own a 37-27 halftime lead.
Fresno State leading scorer Melvin Ely sat out the game after allegations of improper benefits surfaced Friday afternoon. He will also not play in the championship game on Saturday.

Highlanders Lose Hard-Fought game to ASU, 73-64
(11/28/2001) - The UC Riverside Highlanders lost a hard fought 73-64 decision to the Arizona State Sun Devils Tuesday in Tempe.
Mark Miller led the Highlanders with 11 points and Vili Morton and John Galbreath joined him in double-figures with 10 each. Awvee Storey led ASU (2-2) with a game-high 16 points.
Things looked bleak for UCR (0-2) early on as Arizona State opened the game on a 9-0 run and held an 11-2 with 16:09 remaining. The Highlanders made their first field goal on a lay-up by Miller at the 11:30 mark to make the score 17-6 in favor of ASU, but the Highlanders then began to chip away at the lead. A big turning point occurred with 6:47 remaining as Ricky Porter hit a pair of free throws and big ASU center Chad Prewitt was called for his third foul on Morton as they jockeyed for the rebound that never came. Morton nailed his two to make the score 34-20.
That seemed to ignite the Highlanders as Miller nailed a pair of treys, helping the Highlanders on a 15-4 run to close out the half, making the score 38-35 at halftime.
UCR started the second half strongly, building their lead to 54-44 with 12:34 remaining, on a three-pointer by Ted Bell. But the Highlanders seemed to run out of gas as ASU finished the half on a 29-10 run to pull away. Storey finished the half with a pair of jumpers in the final minute to put the game away for the Sun Devils.
Despite the outcome, several Highlanders had stellar games, including back-up center Mike Zepeda, who recorded a pair of blocks in a strong nine minutes of relief of Morton.
The Highlanders won the battle of the boards by a 37-35 margin. On the evening, ASU shot 44.3% and UCR shot 42.0% from the field and 72.0% from the free throw line.

Turnovers Hurt Highlanders as Portland Wins Season Opener 75-67
(11/17/2001) - The University of Portland Pilots overcame a nine-point first half deficit and forced the UC Riverside Highlanders into 24 turnovers en route to a 75-67 win at the Chiles Center in Portland, OR Saturday.
Sophomore center Vili Morton led the Highlanders with a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds and junior guard Zadkiel Elder had 10 points off the bench. But it was not enough to allow the Highlanders to overcome the clutch shooting of Ross Jorgusen who led all scorers with a game-high 25 points, including 15 in the second half. Pilot center Coky Rochin added 19 points and Casey Frandsen had 15, including a momentum changing dunk in the first half.
Riverside started strongly and owned a 25-16 lead with 6:44 remaining on a lay-up by Vili Morton, his 12th points of the game. But UCR's 13 turnovers helped the Pilots slice into the lead.