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Date Posted: 09:44:57 02/24/02 Sun
Author: Jon Ralston
Subject: Re: Tigers defeat Highlanders
In reply to: Jon Ralston 's message, "Tigers defeat Highlanders" on 09:41:07 02/24/02 Sun

Highlanders leave coach wanting more

02/24/2002

By JIM ALEXANDER
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE


RIVERSIDE - Two games remain in UC Riverside's men's basketball season, but John Masi wishes it could last a little longer.

No, his wish has nothing to do with the Big West tournament, in which the Highlanders can't participate. It involves progression and growth, and a team that is getting good enough to stay close for a while but hasn't yet figured out how to close the deal.

"These other (conference) coaches all say it's a long (regular) season and they can't wait for it to be over . . . I just want to keep going," Masi said, after the Highlanders' 87-75 Big West loss to Pacific in their final home game Saturday night, before 1,173 at the Student Recreation Center.

The casual fan might wonder if Masi hasn't tortured himself enough this year, since this was yet another night in which the Highlanders (5-11 in Big West, 8-16 overall) were close, only to let the game get away in the late stages of the second half.

Ahead 59-54 with just under 11 minutes to play, UCR was outscored 22-4 in 6:54. Then, after the Highlanders scrambled back within 78-72 with 2:47 left, Pacific's Demetrius Jackson nailed a three-pointer, providing some breathing room, and the Tigers (9-7, 17-9) padded their lead with free throws in the final minute and a half.

But Masi sees that close game, sees how it got away, and knows that time and work -- and maybe an extra body or two -- will erase the flaws that allowed the game to get out of hand the way it did. "When we were ahead by five, they shot and missed but we allowed a tip-in (by Maurice McLemore)," Masi said. "Then we came down and forced a shot, and they got a three-point play (a basket and free throw by Mike Preston), and just like that it's all tied up.

"We were still playing like we were in a fast-break mode. With a five-point lead, if we have a little poise and play great defense right there, all of a sudden they might start to panic. But those are the little things our club doesn't have a sense of. We're just kind of out there playing. You've got to have the game situation in mind, and unfortunately that seems to cost us most of the time."

UCR was also bothered by Pacific's tag team in the post. Mike Hahn, a 6-7 senior, finished with a career-high 24 points on 10-for-11 shooting in 29 minutes, including 10 straight Pacific points during the Tigers' run. Preston, 6-9 senior, added 11 points in 27 minutes, complementing McLemore's 22-point night.

"This is a case where (injured backup center) Mike Zepeda would have helped," Masi said. "Against a team like this, that has four or five post guys rotating in and out, it's unfair to ask Vili (Morton) and John (Galbreath) to go 40 minutes."

Morton had 11 points and seven rebounds in 36 minutes; Galbreath 16 points but one rebound in 33 minutes. Aaron Hands, now the main backup at both center and power forward, had two points, one rebound and five fouls in nine minutes.

Mark Miller (13 points off the bench) and Kevin Butler (12 points) made some of the key offensive plays that allowed the Highlanders to stay close as long as they did.

It was Miller's three-pointer that gave UCR its biggest lead, 59-54 with 11 minutes left, and it was Butler's trey that brought UCR back to within 78-72. Then again, right after Pacific had turned the ball over, Butler threw it out of bounds to give it back to the Tigers, and Jackson followed with his back-breaking three-pointer.

"This just makes you want to play harder until you get over that hump," said senior Lloyd Cook, who along with Jason Perkins played his last home game as a Highlander. "We want to continue to play, continue to grow. We're jelling together, and we're getting better . . . sooner or later, these games are going to turn into victories."

Jim Alexander can reached by email at jalexander@pe.com or by phone at 782-7593.

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  • Re: Tigers defeat Highlanders -- Tiger Casey, 15:38:45 02/24/02 Sun
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