UC Riverside forward Arinze Chidom scored inside with two seconds left to give the Highlanders a 70-68 win over the University of Hawaii basketball team in today’s Big West game in Riverside, Calif.
Chidom’s hook in the paint gave him a team-high 15 points and the Highlanders (4-2, 1-1 BWC) sent the Rainbow Warriors (3-1, 1-1) to their first loss of the season.
Hawaii forward Casdon Jardine scored a season-high 26 points on 10-for-12 shooting, going 4-for-4 from the 3-point range. Jardine also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds as UH settled for a split of their first conference road trip of the season.
UH guard Junior Madut missed his first six shots before heating up in the second half to finish with nine points.
UC Riverside took a 35-34 lead into halftime and opened the second half by hitting its first five shots in a 12-1 run.
Jardine sparked the UH comeback with a couple of buckets in the paint and a 3-pointer and a Madut 3-pointer cut UCR’s lead to 51-49.
UH caught the Highlanders at 56-56 on two Biwali Bayles free throws and took the lead with 7:34 left on Jardine’s fourth 3-pointer of the game.
UH held a 66-62 lead when UCR’s Flynn Cameron hit a 3-pointer from the top to cut the lead to one with 1:15 left.
After Jardine scored on a step-back mid-range jumper, UCR center Jock Perry drained a 3-pointer from the right side to tie the game at 68-68 with 34 seconds left.
After a UH timeout, Justin Webster’s missed 3-pointer went out of bounds and after a review, possession was awarded to the Highlanders with 16 seconds left.
The Highlanders worked the ball to Chidom in the post, and UCR’s leading scorer curled into the lane and hooked the game-winner over UH center Mate Colina.