UC Riverside slips past UC Irvine in 70-63 win

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) Taylor Johns and Jaylen Bland scored 21 points apiece to lead UC Riverside to a 70-63 win over UC Irvine on Saturday night.

Johns hit 10 of 20 from the field and hauled in 10 rebounds to record his sixth double-double of the season. Bland grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists as the Highlanders (12-13, 5-6 Big West) avenged a Jan. 10 loss to UC Irvine. Riverside outrebounded Irvine 41-28.

Riverside trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half but cut the gap to 34-32 at the break. The Highlanders edged into the lead early in the second half with Nick Gruninger's 3-pointer that made it 39-37. Bland's 3-pointer midway through the half put them ahead for good and sparked a 7-0 burst to make it 54-47 with 8:57 left.

Jaron Martin led the Anteaters (14-10, 7-3) with 15 points.