RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Chris Patton scored 20 points on 10-of-17 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds to propel UC Riverside into the Big West tournament with a 78-65 victory over UC Davis on Thursday night.
UC Riverside (10-19, 5-10) opened the game with a 6-0 spurt to take a lead it would never surrender, carrying a 39-29 advantage into the break and continuing to pull away in the second half. The win secured the final tournament spot by giving the Highlanders a one-game advantage and the season sweep over UC Davis (9-21, 4-11).
Sam Finley contributed 19 points and Steven Thornton added 14 for UC Riverside, which shot 55 percent from the field and held a 34-26 rebounding advantage.
Brynton Lemar led the Aggies with 19 points, Corey Hawkins had 13 and Ryan Sypkens 10, including a trio of 3-pointers that set a new conference record at 312 career treys.
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