The UCSD men’s basketball team played its first competitive game of the year, beating the Australia Institute of Sports 73-67 on Sunday afternoon at RIMAC Arena.
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The Tritons started the game slowly, falling 10 points behind in the early minutes of the matchup.
UCSD began to figure out the Australian style of play and, backed by the inspired performances of Nick Christensen and Kyle Moyneur, clawed back to within two points at the half.
After the break, it became clear that the game now belonged to the Tritons. Ryan Rikansrud made a three-pointer in the Tritons’ first possession to give the home team its first lead at 36-35. Boosted by 50 percent field goal shooting in the second half, UCSD never looked back on its way to an impressive victory.
Christensen led all scorers with 20 points. Rikansrud and Cameron Jackson each added 11 points. Moyneur muscled his way to a team-high seven rebounds.
AIS had an incredible size advantage — the team had four players 6-feet-10 or taller — and should have dominated inside. However, the physical play of Moyneur, Ryan Swed and freshman Jordan Watkins minimized the effectiveness of the Australian giants.
AIS is a residency program run by the Australian national government to develop elite Australian athletes. The 12-man basketball team boasts nine members of the Australian Under-19 National Team. While physically gifted, the inexperience of these players was evident when going up against a more seasoned Triton squad.
UCSD debuted four new players — three freshmen and one junior-college transfer — in the game. Freshmen Derek McDougall and Hassan Bassiri and transfer Jeff Oppenheimer put in solid minutes.
Watkins, however, was easily the most impressive newcomer, scoring three points and pulling down six rebounds in his 22 minutes of playing time. Standing 6 feet 7 and weighing 225 pounds, Watkins added a much-needed physical presence against the taller AIS.
UCSD will officially open its 2001-2002 season at home against the University of Redlands on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. in RIMAC Arena. With games at cross-town rivals SDSU and the University of San Diego on the horizon, the Tritons will be looking at the Redlands game to build some momentum before facing the two Division I schools.
