After losing to CSU Los Angeles on Feb. 14, the UCSD men’s basketball team was able to come back Feb. 15 to break a nine-game losing streak against CSU Dominguez Hills and to give Triton head coach Greg Lanthier his 100th career win.
When asked about the accomplishment, Lanthier couldn’t help but chuckle.
“”It took too long. You take things for granted as a young coach; now each win is more important to me,”” he said. “”I am happier for the team. I want them to get better, and they deserve a reward for all the effort they put in. Winning is that reward.””
On Feb. 14 against CSULA, the Tritons were up by as many as seven points, but finished the first half with only a 27-25 lead. CSULA took the lead three minutes into the second half. The game ended with the visitors taking a 66-55 decision from the Tritons.
UCSD’s Adam Snyder provided the game-high with 16 points and four assists. The team was also aided by Matthew Conti, who grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Sophomore Jordan Watkins also contributed 10 points from the bench.
The Tritons came out on Feb. 15 as a completely different team.
“”On Friday we probably played the worst game of conference, while Saturday we played our best. We need to concentrate on repeating Saturday’s performance,”” Lanthier said.
UCSD led the entire first half, but a late 9-0 run by the Toros resulted in only a two-point Triton lead at the half. Dominguez Hills came out of the locker room to immediately tie the game at 30-30, but only held brief one-point leads the rest of the game. With 16 minutes to play, a lay-up by C.J. Duffaut gave the Tritons a lead they would hold for the rest of the game, winning 71-59.
Individually, the UCSD men came out strong with five players in double figures.
“”As a young team, inconsistency is our biggest problem. We need everyone to play well on the same night, and then you can see what we are capable of,”” Lanthier said.
Duffaut accompanied his lead-taking lay-up with a team-high 12 points. Ryan Rikansrud, Sean Crawford, Watkins and Matthew Sweany all added 11 points to the scoreboard.
Coming off this win, the Tritons must now travel to face Cal Poly Pomona and CSU San Bernardino, two schools at the top of the conference.
“”The second half of conference allows us to see where we are at. Hopefully we will close the gap and keep it tight next weekend. The opponents have the added pressure of the playoffs, while we have nothing to lose,”” Lanthier said.
