The UCSD men’s basketball team finished the 2003 season strong at home over the weekend by defeating San Francisco State 72-56 on March 7 and hanging tough with Sonoma State before falling 59-49 on March 8.
By splitting the two games, the Tritons finished 2-2 in their final four games after going 5-18 in their previous games. More importantly, UCSD had a chance to win each of those four games, with the two losses coming by only seven and 10 points against two of the top teams in its conference.
On March 7, the Tritons dominated the Gators 72-56 in one of their best-played games of the season. UCSD connected on eight three-pointers and shot a solid 47 percent from the field, putting up 72 points against the Gators. The Tritons also dominated defensively, holding SFSU to just 34 percent shooting, forcing 10 turnovers and deflecting several passes.
The Tritons were led on the offensive end by freshman forward Adam Snyder, who had 16 points, five rebounds and four assists. Junior guard Cameron Jackson added 14 points and three rebounds, and junior guard Sean Crawford came off the bench to hit three three-pointers and score 13 points. Junior forward Kyle Moyneur led UCSD with nine rebounds.
Dante Carey and Michael Lynch led SFSU with 17 points. Lynch, however, shot just 5-for-15 from the field.
In addition to their three-point accuracy, the Tritons dominated on the inside, earning many trips to the free-throw line. UCSD shot 32 free throws to the Gators’ nine.
“”Against San Francisco State, we just made a lot of shots, and that’s what it takes to win games in [the California Collegiate Athletic Association],”” said UCSD head coach Greg Lanthier.
The game was marred by an ugly incident at the end when a fight broke out between the two teams. Several punches were thrown, but Lanthier quickly got his team off the court and security was able to keep fans from coming onto the court.
On March 8, the Tritons finished up the season schedule with a 59-49 loss to the Sonoma State Seawolves. Sonoma State played a much more physical game than SFSU and was especially tough on defense.
The Tritons were only able to shoot 33 percent from the field and made just six of 30 three-pointer attempts in the game. The Seawolves were effective at pounding the ball to their post player, 6-foot-10-inch Chris Oliver, who led the game with 13 points and added four rebounds. Junior forward Ryan Rikansund led the Tritons with 12 points.
UCSD started out the game strongly, and a three-pointer by forward Ryan Rikansund late in the first half tied the game at 26-26. But Sonoma continued to use its size to its advantage and took a 26-23 lead at the half. The Seawolves started the second half with a 14-5 run and never let the Tritons get any closer than eight after that.
With the win, Sonoma State finished 18-9 and clinched a playoff berth. The Tritons finished the season 7-20 overall and 6-16 in CCAA play.
Before the Sonoma State game, the team handed out several awards. Snyder earned team MVP honors, while junior C.J. Duffaut received Most Inspirational Player and freshman Sean Crockett earned the Scholar-Athlete award. Moyneur was named Best Defensive Player.
Lanthier believes that the team will be stronger next year. The Tritons have just one senior on the team. Lanthier is also excited about his redshirt freshman.
“”Some of the redshirt freshmen we have were hurt at the beginning of the year, but next year they will be as good as Snyder,”” Lanthier said.
Snyder finished the season by averaging 9.7 points and five rebounds. Crawford led the team in scoring for the year, putting up 12.9 points per game. Sophomore forward Jordan Watkins was the leading rebounder for the Tritons at 5.8 boards per game.
With all three returning and the freshmen starting to play, the men’s basketball team has a good chance to improve on its 10th-place finish in the CCAA next year.