UC Riverside Highlanders at Washington State Cougars
· NCAA Men's Basketball
56 - 70
Elleby, Pollard boost Washington St. past UC Riverside 70-56
The Cougars' defensive effort helped lead them to a 70-56 victory over UC Riverside Sunday afternoon, marking their third victory in a row for the first time this season.
"That's just what we do," said Washington State Head Coach Kyle Smith. "We have some good quickness on defense and we got off to a good start in both halves."
CJ Elleby scored 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting and had six rebounds and Jeff Pollard added 16 points and seven rebounds for the Cougars. Aljaz Kunc also had 13 points, two rebounds and two assists.
Washington State (6-4) led the game almost the entire way, forced 23 turnovers for 24 points to help get the Cougars to a win, despite losing the rebounding battle 33-31 and the battle in the paint 30-28.
UC Riverside (7-4) couldn't take care of the ball down the stretch and shot only 8 of 13 from the free throw line. Angus McWilliams lead the way for the Highlanders with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting. George Willborn III added 11 points for the Highlanders.
"I thought our guys competed for 40 minutes, but our execution was bad turning the ball over 23 times," said UC Riverside Head Coach David Patrick. "We haven't done that all years. Kudos to Washington State for their pressure. I thought we competed, but we just did a bad job of taking care of the basketball."
BIG PICTURE
UC Riverside: After a four-game winning streak, the Highlanders have gone 1-3.
Washington State: The Cougars are on a three-game winning streak for the first time this season. They have three more non-conference games before the start of Pac-12 play.
UP NEXT
UC Riverside: The Highlanders host Northern Arizona on Thursday.
Washington State: The Cougars host Florida A&M on Thursday.
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How can I watch UC Riverside vs. Washington State?
Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 56 - 70 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 56 - 70 |
| 2nd 0:24 | UC Riverside Timeout | 56 - 70 |
| 2nd 0:25 | Angus McWilliam made Three Point Jumper. Assisted by Dikymbe Martin. | 56 - 70 |
| 2nd 0:37 | Jeff Pollard made Layup. Assisted by Noah Williams. | 53 - 70 |
Statistics
 UCR |
 WSU |
|
|---|---|---|
| 21-47 | FG | 24-57 |
| 45 | Field Goal % | 42 |
| 6-21 | 3PT | 7-23 |
| 29 | Three Point % | 30 |
| 8-13 | FT | 15-18 |
| 62 | Free Throw % | 83 |
| 33 | Rebounds | 31 |
| 8 | Offensive Rebounds | 11 |
| 25 | Defensive Rebounds | 20 |
| 11 | Assists | 11 |
| 4 | Steals | 11 |
| 2 | Blocks | 4 |
| 23 | Turnovers | 12 |
| 1 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
| 23 | Total Turnovers | 12 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 1 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 1 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 16 | Points Off Turnovers | 24 |
| 2 | Fast Break Points | 16 |
| 30 | Points in Paint | 28 |
| 19 | Fouls | 17 |
| 0 | Largest Lead | 19 |
Game Information
Location: Pullman, WA
Attendance: 1,995 | Capacity:
2025-26 Big West Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| UC Irvine | 15-5 | - | 23-12 |
| Hawai'i | 14-6 | 1 | 24-9 |
| UC San Diego | 12-8 | 3 | 23-11 |
| Cal State Northridge | 12-8 | 3 | 20-14 |
| Cal State Fullerton | 12-8 | 3 | 18-16 |
| UC Davis | 11-9 | 4 | 19-14 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 11-9 | 4 | 18-14 |
| Cal Poly | 10-10 | 5 | 14-19 |
| Long Beach State | 6-14 | 9 | 10-22 |
| UC Riverside | 5-15 | 10 | 10-22 |
| Cal State Bakersfield | 2-18 | 13 | 8-24 |