UCR men's basketball shines in exhibition game against Cal State San Marcos

The University of California, Riverside (UCR) hosted California State University, San Marcos for an exhibition Friday night as the team prepares for the regular season, scheduled to begin Nov. 4 at Oregon. The Highlanders were in control of the game from the first tip and cruised to an 89-61 victory over the Cougars.

Redshirt sophomores Barrington Hargress and Kaleb Smith led the way for the Highlanders as they combined for 41 points on 17 of 25 combined shots. Smith showed off his physicality early, scoring 7 of the first 12 points and finishing the night with 11 rebounds to lead the team.

As the season matured last year, Smith saw his minutes increase. He elaborated on what he wanted to take away from the game, sharing that he was “just trying to boost the confidence… (and) help the team overall.” (It's) the most important thing that we win , and (I think) we will be in a good position to achieve this.

“We have a really strong squad… once we get our guys back, like Parker Strauss (and) Joel Armotrading, and we have our full roster… we're all ready to kill (and) get wins (against higher ranked teams). .”

Hargress was difficult to stop on Friday night as he continually beat defenders and created his own shots throughout the game. His quick first step and tight grip make him difficult to defend at the rim, and it's easy to see why he's on the Preseason All-Big West First Team.

Hargress touched on his hopes for the team this year and how he aims to lead by stating, “Just making sure I'm a more laid-back guy, more of a leader to my teammates (and trying to lead them).” lead), make sure. “They’re comfortable (since) I’ve done this before, I’m just trying to be like a fountain (and) really give my guys something now.”

Another bright spot for the Highlanders was redshirt junior Gavin Davis. Davis didn't play last year, but head coach Mike Magpayo sees him having a bigger role for the team this season. Magpayo commented on Davis: “He's a 7 o'clock, every day guy… and he's a piece of the puzzle.” We had two top guys in place, Joel Armotrading and Parker Strauss, so Gavin Davis (with the Next man up mentality occurred, which was (nice to see).”

Davis dropped 15 points, going three for six from downtown and showing what he could be for the Highlanders. With his catch-and-shoot ability from beyond the arc, he could see more minutes as the season progresses.

The first five games on UCR's schedule are against Division I opponents and Magpayo gave his first impressions of their schedule, stating: “We have a brutal opening slate, our first six games are probably the toughest strength of the number one schedule .” Country… but I think this group has some confidence and attitude that they're going to go there and try to win every single game we play.”

The Highlanders are underdogs in their first two games, visiting the Oregon Ducks and Brigham Young University Cougars. Last season, UCR had a slow start to the regular season, falling to just 7-12 before finishing the year at 15-17. Magpayo and the team are hoping for a quicker start to this season as they will field more experienced players. All starters return except recent graduate Kyle Owens.