Guardian file
Coming off a victory on Jan. 2 at Cal State Los Angeles, UCSD traveled to the Torodome in Carson, Calif., to play Cal State Dominguez Hills on Jan. 3 and pull out another win in a nailbiter, 68-66, over its California Collegiate Athletic Association opponent.
Junior forward Brandon Francis and center Jesse Boyd each scored 19 points to lead the Tritons. Francis remained hot after scoring 18 points the night before in a win over the Golden Eagles. In addition to the performances by Francis and Boyd, sophomore guard Matthew Sweany had 11 points, six rebounds and a team-high four assists for UCSD.
The game was close throughout with six ties in the first half, including a knotted halftime score of 33-33. In the second half, neither team could secure greater than a two-point lead during the first 10 minutes, until a basket and foul by the Toros¹ Ryan Meilleur gave the home side a 51-47 lead with 9:45 remaining. A couple of free throws gave Cal State Dominguez Hills a 53-47 advantage, the Toros¹ largest lead of the night.
Neither team could pull away, and the lead switched back and forth for almost the entire rest of the game.
Boyd made a three-point play to give the Tritons a 66-63 lead with 1:34 left. A three-pointer by the Toros was nullified because a Cal State Dominguez Hills player called a timeout prior to the shot. However, with 23 seconds left, Geovanny Aispuro of the Toros was fouled shooting a three-pointer and made all three of his free throws to once again tie the game.
The Cal State Dominguez Hills free throws were quickly answered, however. Just seven seconds later, Boyd was fouled on a field goal attempt and hit both of his free throws. A desperate three-pointer for the Toros missed and the Tritons secured the victory.
Coaches and players were unavailable for comment at press time.
With the win, UCSD improves to 3-6 overall and moves to 3-1 in CCAA play, the best-ever league start for the Tritons since joining the conference prior to the 2000-01 season. UCSD is currently tied for third place in the conference, one game behind Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State Bakersfield.
Up next for the Tritons is a tough four-game home stand, including games on Jan. 9 against Cal Poly Pomona and Jan. 10 against Cal State San Bernardino. Tip off for both contests is at 7:30 p.m. at RIMAC Arena.
