Riverside still a special place for coach John Smith despite the losses – Press Enterprise

It hasn’t been easy to come home lately for Riverside native John Smith.

“My emotions are always all over the place when I come back home,” Smith said, “so this time I just stayed in my hotel room and tried to stay in the moment because I know that I get too emotional and then I can’t coach the game.”

Now in his fourth year as the men’s basketball coach at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Smith has yet to win a game in four trips to UC Riverside. This time, the 53-year-old coach didn’t tell anybody he was going to be here on Monday night.

His friends and family showed up anyway.

“I didn’t call anybody and tell them we were coming down and those who found out came and we still had great support,” said Smith, a graduate of Riverside North High and the former Riverside City College men’s basketball head coach.

Among those who showed up for Smith at SRC Arena were former RCC players Danny Redmon, Deshaun Thomas and Shamont Brown.

“A lot of former players were here for me and it was great. Riverside is a special place,” he said.

Smith is quietly laying a new foundation for a program without a Big West Conference title and only one appearance in the NCAA Tournament (2014).

“I still have three years left on this contract, so hopefully by the end of this we’ll be at the top of this conference and you know me, we will get there,” he said.

After Monday night’s 83-78 overtime loss to UC Riverside, Cal Poly is mired in a five-game losing streak.

“We just got to get one,” he said. “This is a tough league. Every game is winnable (and) every game is losable, so we just got to win one.”

With an emphasis on effort on defense and ball movement on offense, Cal Poly held opponents to the second-lowest field goal percentage among Big West programs last season.

The previous season, Smith guided the Broncos to the program’s first Big West Tournament victory in seven years.

“COVID kind of deflated our flight, but I think we’ve gotten better from last year and that’s all I’m trying to do is to build it year by year,” Smith said.

Smith served as the associated head coach at Cal State Fullerton from 2013-19, helping the Titans qualify for the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Before that he had a successful tenure at RCC where he led the Tigers to the 2009 CCCAA state championship.

“No matter the score it’s always great coming back,” he said. “Riverside raised me and I love Riverside.”

Hungry Highlanders score in OT

UC Riverside’s “Free Pizza Night” promotion had all of the Highlanders eating.

Flynn Cameron had 25 points, six assists and five rebounds, and Jamal Hartwell II made five 3-pointers as UC Riverside topped Cal Poly SLO 83-78 in overtime in front of the largest crowd of the season Monday night at the SRC Arena.

“I bought pizzas for all the students so I hoped they’d come,” UCR head coach Mike Magpayo said. “We’re putting a good product on the floor and now we’re winning, and these guys deserve to play in front of big crowds.”

It was the fourth consecutive victory for UC Riverside (13-6 overall, 6-1 Big West), which is off to its best Big West start in the program’s history.

Coyotes running despite a limp

The Cal State San Bernardino men’s basketball team is making the best of a bad situation.

The Coyotes (12-2 overall, 7-1 CCAA) bounced back from a loss at Stanislaus State to beat Chico State in triple overtime. They have a two-game lead on three teams heading into this weekend.

They host two of the teams giving chase, Sonoma State on Thursday night and Cal Poly Humboldt on Saturday afternoon, at The Den as Coussoulis Arena continues to be closed for repairs following recent rains that caused its roof to leak.

Brandon Knapper, a NABC first team All-American last season, was recently recognized in the Bevo Francis Top 100 Watch List for the second consecutive season.