RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Taylor Johns scored 31 points and pulled down 13 rebounds as UC Riverside had to fight off a determined Morgan State for a 68-63 win on Tuesday night.
 
Morgan State (2-12), which last won when it beat UC Irvine 63-62 on December 16, scored 11 unanswered points to start the game. A jumper by Donte Pretlow gave the Bears a 26-9 lead at the 7:57 mark, its largest lead of the night.  They were up 37-24 at the half.
 
UC Riverside opened the second half with a 16-7 run to close to 44-40.
 
The Highlanders then chipped away at the lead until Steven Thornton's two free throws gave them their first lead 59-57 with 3:41 left. Johns drove in for a layup with 17 seconds remaining to secure the win.
 
Jaylen Bland hit 4 of 7 from beyond the arc to total 18 points and Thornton chipped in 12 for UC Riverside (7-5).
 
Blake Bozeman had 13 and Cedric Blossom and Torin Childs-Harris added 11 apiece for Morgan State. Zech Smith came up just shy of a double-double by posting nine points and nine rebounds to go along with three blocked shots.

The Bears were outscored by a 44-26 margin in the second half en route to its 10th straight road loss of the season.