The beginning of every season brings hope and promise that the men’s basketball team will be playing late in the season while others are sitting at home.
Last year’s record was 7-20, which included a stretch with nine straight losses. Greg Lanthier opens up his tenth year as UCSD’s head coach with an extremely young team ‹ eight freshmen, four sophomores, two juniors and one senior.
There are only five returning players on the roster: senior Cameron Jackson and sophomores Adam Snyder, Matthew Sweany, Zach Zanolli and Matthew Conti. Despite being so young, this team can still play ball.
Originally, the Tritons’ first test of the season was supposed to be against University of La Verne at home, but UCSD and RIMAC Arena were selected to host the 2003 NCAA Division II Championship Women’s Volleyball Pacific Regional, an event which ran Nov. 20 through Nov. 23. As a result, the Tritons had made the trek up to La Verne to open the season.
Despite traveling, the Tritons came out ready to play on Nov. 21 at La Verne, but Lanthier’s young squad suffered its first defeat in a thrilling 81-78 game. Neither team led by more than three points at any time.
UCSD led by two points with two minutes left in the game. With 50 seconds left, La Verne tied the game. After a missed Triton layup, the Leopards made the go-ahead bucket that put them up for good, as the Tritons were then forced into a fouling situation.
The Tritons’ hope to start the season off with a win faded away after a desperate three-point attempt by sophomore forward Adam Synder was off its mark.
Free throws were crucial in the game. The Leopards went 13-16 from the line and did not miss down the stretch. The Tritons were able to stay close throughout based on the play of Snyder, who scored 20 points and pulled down a team-high nine boards, but it was not enough to get them past the Leopards. In his debut, 6-foot-9 newcomer Jesse Boyd poured in 19 for UCSD.
Next up, the Tritons will travel to the University of Redlands on Dec. 4 and play their California Collegiate Athletic Association opener at Grand Canyon in Phoenix, Ariz.
Following that is a game at Cox Arena against area Division I foe San Diego State on Dec. 6 at 7:05 p.m. Next, the Tritons will host Grand Canyon on Dec. 13 in their home opener. Tip-off at RIMAC Arena is set for noon with the UCSD women following with their home opener against the Antelopes at 2 p.m.
