RIVERSIDE, Calif.  – California State University, Northridge’s Men’s Basketball could not overcome a tough shooting night in a 68-45 defeat to UC Riverside on Saturday at the SRC Arena. Dionte Bostick led the way with 11 points for the Matadors.

Both teams struggled from the floor throughout the first half with neither side shooting above 40 percent. CSUN forced UCR to six consecutive missed shots to start the game while the Matadors converted on three of seven to kick off the night. The Matadors held the Highlanders without a point until the 15-minute mark of the first half and without a field goal until two minutes later. Marcel Stevens would score four consecutive points to put CSUN on top 13-3 at the halfway point of the period.

However, after Stevens’ field goal with 10:41 left in the first half, CSUN would not make another field goal for over 16 minutes. UCR would go on a 11-0 run to take its first lead of the game with under four minutes left before halftime. The final two minutes especially belonged to the Highlanders who finished the half with eight-straight points for a 22-15 lead.

After shooting under 16 percent from the floor in the opening stanza, the Matadors went without a point in their first seven possessions in the second half. Meanwhile, UCR took advantage by going on a 7-0 run to quickly extend its lead to 14 points (29-15). Minutes later, Johnnie Walter found the bottom of the net with 13:29 left to play but the Matadors gave up a 12-4 UCR run to fall behind by 20 points.

The Highlanders scored with regularity in the second half behind the play of Flynn Cameron who scored 14 of his 18 points after intermission. Cameron would find Lachlan Olbrich for a dunk before knocking down a 3-pointer on the Highlanders’ next possession to push the lead to 29. CSUN trailed by as many as 31 points (66-35) before its bench closed the game on a 10-2 run.

Game Notes
CSUN shot a season low 23.4 percent for the game while the Matadors made 22-of-29 at the free throw line (75.9 percent.). On the flip side, the Highlanders shot 50.0 percent on the night after shooting above 60 percent in the second half. UCR also made 11-of-18 at the free throw line (61.1 percent). The Highlanders out-rebounded the Matadors 44-25 and posted a 28-12 edge in points in the paint.

Atin Wright scored seven points to go with two assists and two steals while Marcel Stevens had six points and two steals. Off the bench, Arman Pezeshkian scored six points and Cam Slaymaker had five.

For UCR, Flynn Cameron had a game-high 18 points.

“I thought our energy was good [in the first half],” said head coach Trent Johnson. “They missed a couple open shots then I thought we got comfortable. I said it to them in two or three timeouts, ‘look, don’t think this is going to be easy.’ We were guarding them and playing with a high level of energy, they missed a couple shots. Our quickness bothered them early, but they never lost their poise as an experienced physical team. Then we started to go off on our own right before the half.”

Up Next
CSUN hosts UC Davis on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. inside Premier America Credit Union Arena. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call on ESPN+ and GoMatadors.com/Radio.