The UCSD men’s basketball team continued its recent struggles, dropping games to California State University teams from Stanislaus and Bakersfield this weekend.

The Tritons started the Central Valley swing with a disappointing 67-63 loss to the Warriors of Cal State Stanislaus Friday night.

Going into the half leading 35-25, UCSD seemed poised to grab its fifth California Collegiate Athletic Association win, but the Tritons’ lack of depth and lack of inside presence was too much to overcome.

Reserve Casey Harrington, who was averaging three minutes a game, came off the bench in the second stanza, leading Stanislaus to a 14-point turnaround and the 67-63 victory.

Reasons for the second-half collapse abound. Besides inserting Harrington, the Warriors shot a sizzling 45.2 percent from the field (14-31) in the second half while the Tritons froze inside and out, shooting 32.4 percent (11-34), far below their season average of 41.5 percent.

The Tritons fell short on rebounds 43-37. While the starting UCSD frontline of Jody Woods, Ryan Swed and Jordan Watkins added 25 rebounds in total, the Triton guards and reserves failed to pull down their share of rebounds.

The starting backcourt for the Warriors pulled down a combined 13 rebounds, but their Triton counterparts only pulled down four, providing the key element in the rebound column.

Freshman center Watkins led the Tritons in scoring with 14 points while Woods chipped in 13. Woods and Swed both led the team in rebounds with nine apiece.

Saturday night, the Tritons fell to the Roadrunners of Cal State Bakersfield, 89-82, in a difficult match against the nation’s No. 23 team.

The Tritons again relied on outside shooting to keep the game close but could not contain the Roadrunners’ guard play.

It would be an understatement to say the Tritons live and die by the three: They decisively lead the California Collegiate Athletic Association in three-point field goal attempts. This game was the perfect example of why that strategy has not produced many wins.

UCSD missed its first eight three-point attempts and trailed by 10 during the first half. The Tritons made 11 of their next 12 three-point attempts and took their only lead early in the second half after Swed scored the team’s final three-pointer.

The Tritons then missed their final three attempts from beyond the arc while watching Bakersfield pull away for the victory.

Again, rebounds played a pivotal role in this game when UCSD — the worst rebounding team in the CCAA — managed to pull down only 27 boards against the Roadrunners’ 35.

Woods led the Tritons, pouring in a season-high 19 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Swed added 15 points and six rebounds.