Box Score

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - For the first 38-plus minutes of Thursday's Big West Conference road game at the SRC Arena, it was one of those nights from the floor for UC Davis. The Aggies successfully made that extra pass to the open man all night long, created clean looks at the basket, but could not get their shots to fall. However, in the final 77 seconds, UC Davis' 18-8 run nearly erased its double-digit deficit, but UC Riverside was able to hang on and withstand a late Aggie rally by making 12 of its last 14 free throws - the final points of the night for the Highlanders - to escape with a 61-55 win.

"We let our offensive woes in the second half affect how we competed and defended, and that created the separation even though we made a valiant effort late." said head coach Jim Les.

The Aggies will now head to CSUN for Saturday's 7:30 p.m. ESPNU game with a 10-7 overall and 2-1 Big West record. UC Riverside will continue its week with a 3-11 and 1-2 record.

Chima Moneke led all players with 17 points, all scored in the second half, on 6 of 9 shooting from the floor and hit 5 of 7 free throws; Brynton Lemar tied a career high by canning four shots from three to finish with 12 points; Siler Schneider, who jump-started his team's comeback, added another 14.

By collecting a game-high 11 rebounds, Moneke earned his seventh double-double of the season, a league-high total that also ties a Division I program record, originally set by Joe Harden during the 2009-10 season.

Secean Johnson and Malik Thames led UCR with 13 points apiece to help it snap its four-game losing streak against the Aggies. UC Davis' four-game overall win streak also ended with Thursday's result.

Even though it shot .292 percent overall from the floor compared to the Highlanders, who hit half of their shots in the second half to finish with a .447 clip, UC Davis turned a game high 16-point deficit into a two-possession game with 21 seconds remaining.

After a quick jumper from Schneider, he forced one of UCR's 20 turnovers, a season-high total for an Aggie opponent, which led to a three-point play from Moneke. Additional layups from the pair, combined with back-to-back free throws from Darius Graham, chopped 10 points off UC Riverside's lead and pulled UC Davis within six at 57-51.

"It's always a 24-hour rule, regardless of the result. We will get back to work, develop a game plan and get guys back on the right path. We have 48 hours to do so, and will get after it," added Les.

The Aggies will now look to secure a split of its inaugural league road games when they head to Northridge to face the Matadors Saturday night. Tipoff will take place at 7:30 p.m. inside the Matadome in a game that ESPNU will televise nationwide.

UC RIVERSIDE 61, UC DAVIS 55

UC DAVIS (10-8, 2-1 BWC)
Moneke, Chima 6-9 5-7 17; Schneider, Siler 5-17 3-5 14; Lemar, Brynton 4-14 0-0 12; Graham, Darius 1-6 2-2 5; White, Lawrence 2-9 0-0 4; Adenrele, J.T. 1-6 0-0 2; Henn, Mikey 0-4 1-3 1; Onyebalu, Michael 0-0 0-0 0; Hennings, Arell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-65 11-17 55.

UC RIVERSIDE (3-11, 1-2 BWC)
Thames, Malik 2-8 9-10 13; Johnson, Secean 5-9 2-4 13; Thomas, Gentrey 3-6 1-2 8; Murray, Chance 3-9 1-4 8; Jackson, James 3-6 1-2 7; Rosser, Brandon 2-4 2-2 6; Dijkstra, Menno 1-1 0-0 2; Martin, Dikymbe 1-3 0-0 2; Larsson, Alex 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 21-47 16-24 61.

UC Davis........................ 15 40 - 55
UC Riverside.................. 21 40 - 61

3-point goals--UC Davis 6-28 (Lemar, Brynton 4-9; Schneider, Siler 1-9; Graham, Darius 1-4; Henn, Mikey 0-1; White, Lawrence 0-5), UC Riverside 3-13 (Johnson, Secean 1-2; Thomas, Gentrey 1-2; Murray, Chance 1-3; Martin, Dikymbe 0-1; Rosser, Brandon 0-1; Thames, Malik 0-4). Fouled out--UC
Davis-White, Lawrence; Adenrele, J.T., UC Riverside-Jackson, James. Rebounds--UC Davis 36 (Moneke, Chima 11), UC Riverside 38 (Murray, Chance 9). Assists--UC Davis 11 (Graham, Darius 4), UC Riverside 13 (Murray, Chance 5). Total fouls--UC Davis 23, UC Riverside 21. Technical fouls--UC Davis-None, UC Riverside-None. A-897.