It has been a rough month for the UCSD men’s basketball team and it did not get any easier when the team played back-to-back games against top-ranked California State University San Bernardino, and third-place Cal Poly Pomona.
The team traveled Friday to San Bernardino to play the Coyotes, who were 24-1, and was outmatched 71-55. UCSD played tough in the first half, trailing only 36-29 at halftime. San Bernardino pulled away in the second half.
C.J. Duffaut led the Tritons with 18 points, and Cameron Jackson scored 10. San Bernardino kept the Tritons’ top scorers in check. Nick Christianson, Ryan Swed and Jody Woods, who all came into the game averaging better than nine points per game, combined for 2-16 from the floor and a total of four points with Christianson scoring all four. San Bernardino was led by Glen Summerall with 23 points and James Taylor with 16 points.
The following night at Kellogg Gym, Cal Poly Pomona beat UCSD 88-66. Once again the Tritons kept it close in the first half, but could not come through in the second half. The Tritons only trailed the Broncos by six at the half and then were outscored in the second half 54-38.
Woods bounced back from a bad night and scored 12 points for UCSD. Duffaut scored 10 points and Christianson scored nine. The Tritons struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 6-23.
Overall the Tritons shot 39 percent from the floor, while Cal Poly Pomona shot 50 percent. Cal Poly Pomona produced a solid effort as a team. Five Bronco players scored 10 or more points. Jeff Bounds had the game high with 23 points. Bounds is averaging over 11 points per game.
The losses dropped UCSD to 7-20 overall, and 4-16 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Tritons’ current losing streak has dropped them down to second-to-last place, just ahead of Chico State.
The Tritons seek to regain their winning form against UC Davis this weekend in their second-to-last home game of the season.