Riverside Defeats Golden West in Conference Opener

Riverside tied its season-high points mark in their Orange Empire Conference (OEC) opener against the Golden West College Rustlers on Wednesday night behind four players who landed in double digits. Despite a pesky Rustlers team who was eight games below .500 entering into tonight's game, the Tigers utilized consistent offense down the stretch aiding a 90-77 victory.

Both teams played particularly well on the offensive end by shooting over 40 percent from the floor. The Tigers held the edge at the charity stripe with a 77 shooting percentage (27-for-35) along with 25 points off Golden West's 18 turnovers. Riverside minimized turnovers by coughing up the rock a season-low seven times.

The Tigers were without size on the floor thus utilizing a smaller lineup. While they were out rebounded, three players were able to keep the Rustlers at bay by carrying the majority of the load. Freshman point guard Melvin Walker was four assists away from a double-double as he paced his team with 25 points and six assists. He was efficient in his shot selection by going 8-for-12 from the floor which encompassed a trio of threes.

Freshman guard Zekiah LoVett, who earned his fourth start of the season, was right behind him with 17 points. Freshman guard Edwyn Collins, who came off the bench for the third time this year, had an all-around effective game as seen in 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Sophomore Darius Ware earned his first double-digit scoring game of the season after dropping 11 points and recording one blocked shot.

This Tigers (6-7, 1-0 OEC) will continue action on the road Friday, December 20 as they take on the Santa Ana College Dons at 5 p.m.