NCAA News Wire
Morgan State 68, UC Riverside 63
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Junior forward Taylor Johns had a career-high-tying 31 points and 13 rebounds, leading UC Riverside to a 68-63 victory over visiting Morgan State on Tuesday at SRC Arena in Riverside, Calif.
Junior guard Jaylen Bland had 18 points, six rebounds and five assists for UC Riverside (7-5). Senior forward Steve Thornton scored 12 points.
Senior guard Blake Bozeman scored 13 points to lead Morgan State (2-12). Junior forward Cedric Blossom and sophomore guard Torrin Childs-Harris scored 11 points apiece.
Morgan State started the game with an 11-0 run over the first 3:15 of the contest. UC Riverside committed five turnovers before Johns scored the team’s first basket with 15:52 to play in the opening period. Johns cut the deficit to six on a dunk with 14:18 to go, but the Bears responded with a 13-2 run to take a 26-9 lead with 7:57 remaining.
Morgan State led 37-24 at the break despite a huge first half from Johns, who had 18 points and seven rebounds. The Bears shot just 37.1 percent from the field but held the Highlanders to 35.7 percent shooting, amassed a 24-19 rebounding advantage and forced 11 turnovers.
UC Riverside stormed back in the second period, outscoring Morgan State 13-6 over the first 3:30 to cut the deficit to six. The Highlanders got within four on a couple of occasions before freshman guard Jamar Redmond converted a four-point play to put the Bears up 52-43 with 12:41 to go.
The Highlanders battled back again, tying the game at 57-57 with 6:39 remaining before taking a 59-57 lead with 3:41 to play. The Bears trailed 64-60 when Redmond made a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left, cutting the deficit to one, but a layup by Johns helped the Highlanders secure the victory.
