After winning three consecutive games, the UCSD men’s basketball team has dropped three in a row, all of them at home. Losses to UC Davis and Chico State on Jan. 16 and Jan. 17, respectively, spoiled the Tritons’ homestand.
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On Jan. 16, UCSD played host to UC Davis and lost, 74-67. The Tritons lost the next night to Chico State, 85-76.
In the UC Davis game, UCSD failed to string together a rally in the first half. The Aggies were sparked by a 10-0 run that gave them a lead of 24-15. Unable to keep up, UCSD trailed 34-22 at the half.
Early in the second half, the Tritons came out flat and were down by 17 points. UCSD, however, did not quit; instead, the Tritons cut the lead to four points to a score of 66-62 with 55 seconds remaining. This was as close as the Tritons would get, because three costly turnovers gave the Aggies the opportunity to put the game out of reach with four free throws and a steal in the remaining time.
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After the game, UCSD head coach Greg Lanthier was positive.
“”All we can ask for is to give ourselves a chance at the end of games,”” Lanthier said. “”If we are in the game every game, then we will win a lot more than we will lose.””
Junior forward Brandon Francis led the Tritons with a season-high 24 points, making eight of 17 from the field, including five from three-point range. Junior center Jesse Boyd had 22 points to go with eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Redshirt freshman guard Adam Reinking collected a team-high 10 rebounds and added eight points. Sophomore guard Matthew Sweany tallied nine points and two blocked shots for UCSD.
The Aggies’ Fowzi Abdelsamad scored 21 points while Rommel Marentez contributed 13 points and Phil Rasmussen added 12 points.
UCSD outshot UC Davis, 47 percent to 38 percent, but committed 19 turnovers to 11 by the Aggies.
Unfortunately for the Tritons, things did not get much better on Jan. 17 when UCSD fell to Chico State, 85-76. The Tritons came out strong and led at the half, 37-35, but a Wildcat flurry at the top of the second half doomed the Tritons to a loss. Chico State scored the first 10 points of the second half right out of the gates. With six minutes to go, the Wildcats had a 16-point lead and UCSD could not muster enough to come back.
“”That’s just the nature of the game,”” Lanthier said.
The Tritons had five players score in double digits. Sweany led UCSD with 21 points while Boyd posted a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Francis collected 13 points and a game-high five assists, with redshirt freshmen Parker Berling and Reinking scoring 11 points apiece.
Chico State’s Ben Perak led both teams in scoring with 22 points and added six rebounds while teammate Brian Faultstich posted 13 points. Rounding out the double digit scorers for the Wildcats’ were Jason Van Eck, Andy Butcher with 12 points apiece, and Doug Little with 11 points
The loss puts UCSD at 4-9 overall and 4-4 in California Collegiate Athletic Association play. The Tritons are back on the road next week against Cal State Salinas and Cal State Bakersfield. The Tritons’ next home game will be on Jan. 30 against Sonoma State. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. at RIMAC Arena.
