RIVERSIDE (Interstat) — Tony Duckett scored 21 points and UC Riverside opened its men’s NCAA Division I season with a 110-47 victory over non-divisional opponent La Verne on Monday at UCR Rec Center. The Highlanders improved to 1-0 in front of an announced attendance of 564. UC Riverside scored 110 points from 79 possessions, an offensive rating of 138.8, and finished with 15 offensive rebounds, 11 assists, nine blocks, seven turnovers and 15 fouls. La Verne scored 26 first-half points and 21 after halftime, while UC Riverside scored 58 before the break and 52 in the second half.

UC Riverside opened the scoring on Duckett’s jump shot 41 seconds into the game, but La Verne answered with Jackson Gray’s 3-pointer. Duckett made a tip-in layup, Julian Daaboul made two free throws and Ben Waller made a layup before Daaboul hit a 3-pointer to give La Verne an 8-6 lead with 17:13 left in the first half. Tyus Parrish-Tillman answered with a 3-pointer, Devon Malcolm made a layup and a free throw, Duckett made a 3-pointer and Parrish-Tillman made another 3-pointer as UC Riverside moved ahead 18-8. Daaboul hit another 3-pointer, James Evans made a 3-pointer and the Highlanders kept pulling away. The decisive stretch came after La Verne’s Percy Whittaker made a layup with 11:46 remaining to cut UC Riverside’s lead to 25-15. The Highlanders then scored 21 unanswered points over nearly nine minutes. James Evans made a free throw, Dallas Washington made a dunk and a free throw, Ben Waller made a layup, Devon Malcolm made a tip-in layup, Tony Duckett made a 3-pointer, Tyus Parrish-Tillman made a dunk, Malcolm made a tip-in dunk, Parrish-Tillman made a layup, Duckett made a jump shot off a turnover and Duckett made a layup. La Verne did not score again until Jackson Gray made a 3-pointer with 1:56 left in the half. UC Riverside led 58-26 at halftime after Parker Strauss made a 3-pointer with 26.7 seconds remaining.

UC Riverside kept control after halftime. De’Undrae Perteete made a 3-pointer, James Evans made a layup and later hit two 3-pointers, Duckett made a layup and two free throws, Parrish-Tillman made a layup, a dunk and a free throw, and Washington made a 3-pointer and a free throw as the Highlanders extended their lead. Ben Waller made a layup and a tip-in layup, and Malcolm made a layup. Aidan Rice made a layup, and Brayden Harris made a layup, a 3-pointer and a dunk. Jacob Majok made a layup, a free throw and an alley-oop, and Easton Reagan made a 3-point jump shot. La Verne’s second-half highlights included Daaboul’s layup and dunk, Higgy Katoa’s jump shot, James Christian’s two free throws, a layup, a 3-point stepback jump shot and two free throws, Jacob Sells’ layup, Caike Godoy’s free throw, and Brenden White’s layup and dunk in the final 1:26. UC Riverside led 105-40 after Majok’s alley-oop with 4:28 left, its largest lead of 65 points.

Duckett, a 6-foot-5, 185-pound guard from Carlsbad, Calif., who previously played at Carlsbad, had 21 points, four rebounds, four assists and one block in 23 minutes. Devon Malcolm, a 6-5, 220-pound guard, had 13 points, eight rebounds, one assist and two blocks in 17 minutes. Tyus Parrish-Tillman, a 6-8 forward who previously played at Clovis West, had 15 points, nine rebounds, two assists and three blocks in 19 minutes. James Evans, a 6-6 guard who previously played at West Ranch, had 12 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes. Brayden Harris, a 6-6 guard from Valley Christian High School, had seven points, three rebounds and two assists in eight minutes. Ben Waller, a 6-6 guard from Universal School, had eight points, two rebounds and two assists in 13 minutes. Dallas Washington, a 6-10 forward from Santa Margarita Catholic HS, had 11 points, two rebounds and two blocks in eight minutes. Jacob Majok, a 6-7 forward from Crean Lutheran High School, had seven points, one rebound, one assist and one block in nine minutes. De’Undrae Perteete, a 6-5 guard from Salesian H.S., had three points, five rebounds and two assists in 19 minutes. Easton Reagan, a 6-5 guard from Desert Mountain HS, had five points, four rebounds and one assist in 18 minutes.

UC Riverside next hosts Denver on Saturday, Nov. 7, then visits San Jose State on Thursday, Nov. 12; Fresno State on Saturday, Nov. 14; San Diego on Wednesday, Nov. 18; hosts Portland State on Wednesday, Nov. 25; hosts Lincoln (Calif.) on Saturday, Nov. 28; visits UC Irvine on Thursday, Dec. 3; hosts California Baptist on Saturday, Dec. 5; visits California on Saturday, Dec. 12; and hosts Utah Tech on Friday, Dec. 18.

No point spread, betting line, over-under or game-simulator projection was provided for the game or for UC Riverside’s next matchup against Denver.